High School Football: TWO-MINUTE DRILL

The Estancia High football roster in the game program did not list a No. 69, but there was no way anyone could have missed Adahir Aguilera’s contribution to the Eagles’ 45-0 nonleague win over Ocean View on Friday.

Aguilera, a senior offensive guard and linebacker turned in one big play after another.

“He’s one of our key returners from last year, and he’s a big key for us on defense,” said Eagles’ Coach Mike Bargas, who termed Aguilera’s absence from the program an oversight. “He had a very good game at Ocean View.”

The six-foot, 240-pound Aguilera was credited with eight solo tackles and two assists Friday. One of those assists came early in the game when he and lineman Bryan Arriola sacked Ocean View quarterback Dallas Broge for a four-yard loss.

Midway through the third quarter, Aguilera put a hit on Broge that altered his pass attempt and the ball was intercepted by Estancia’s Cole Mensinger.

It was one of three interceptions for the Eagles (2-0), who posted their second consecutive shutout to start the season.

“He was flying around out there,” Bargas said of Aguilera. “He did a real good job both ways (offense, defense). He was a man inspired.”

Corona del Mar High senior kicker Grif Amies had a notable varsity debut Friday in the Sea Kings’ 34-7 nonleague win at Western.

Amies, who transferred from Newport Harbor last year, but was granted only junior varsity eligibility, kicked a 52-yard field goal to cap the scoring, opened the scoring with a 22-yard field goal, was perfect on four conversion kicks and boomed three kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks.

CdM Coach Scott Meyer said Monday he was awaiting confirmation that Amies’ 52-yarder was a school record.

A 21-13 nonleague loss to Katella on Friday was frustrating for Costa Mesa High, which was unable to come all the way back from a 21-3 halftime deficit.

Katella junior running back TJ Ashmeade was a big reason why the Knights built that lead. Ashmeade tallied 144 yards on 18 carries in the first half. His first two carries, on back-to-back plays in Katella’s first offensive series, produced 27 and 23 yards, respectively.

Ashmeade finished with 176 yards and a touchdown. Costa Mesa Coach Wally Grant took responsibility after the game.

“They started doing some unbalanced stuff, and I didn’t prepare our kids for that,” Grant said. “[Katella Coach] Fred [DiPalma] did a great job of catching us in a set that we weren’t ready for. They hurt us in the first half, and we went in there and made the adjustments in the second half.

“We’ve got a good defense, and I didn’t prepare them for what I knew was coming.”

Ashmeade had six carries for 32 yards in the second half, before aggravating a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter.

For the second straight year, Newport Harbor High has begun 0-2.

The Sailors fell at home, 42-7, to Loyola of Los Angeles on Friday. The loss was their worst at Davidson Field against a nonleague opponent during Jeff Brinkley’s 27 years as Newport Harbor’s coach.

The previous time Newport Harbor started 0-2 in consecutive seasons was in 1981-82.

The Sailors will try to avoid their first 0-3 start under Brinkley when they play host to rival Corona del Mar on Friday in the Battle of the Bay at 7 p.m.

The last time Newport Harbor opened the year with three straight losses was 31 years ago.

Estancia’s two shutouts to open the season match the 1969 team’s feat. Estancia has had more than two shutouts in a season just twice. The 1989 Eagles, who were 10-0 in the regular season, had six shutouts. The Eagles blanked three opponents last season.

CdM’s first win of the season was not without losses, as senior tailback Kai Wilson exited in the second quarter with an Achilles’ tendon injury and senior outside linebacker James Christian was sidelined on the third defensive play with a left-knee injury.

Meyer said Monday he believed Wilson’s injury was a strain, though he could not speculate as to when Wilson may return.

Meyer said Christian sprained the knee and was lifted as a precautionary measure. Meyer said he expects Christian to be ready for the Battle of the Bay on Friday at Newport Harbor.

Newport Harbor needs a win in a bad way. The next opponent is one the Sailors have enjoyed a lot of success against in the past 50 matchups.

The Sailors have owned the Battle of the Bay against CdM, holding a 37-13 advantage.

Newport Harbor has won the past five rivalry games against the Sea Kings. Last year’s contest, played at Orange Coast College, was the closest of the last five meetings. The Sailors came back and won, 29-26.

Costa Mesa was bottled up against Katella for much of the game. The big-play ability the Mustangs had shown in their 45-14 victory over Santiago the previous week did not emerge against the Knights.

Mesa had no plays from scrimmage for more than 15 yards. Only two plays went for more than 10 yards — a 12-yard run by senior Justin Smith and an 11-yard pass play from senior quarterback Noah JeyaRajah to senior Markiece Traylor.

Twice in the first half, the Mustangs turned the ball over on downs. They couldn’t convert a fourth-and-one on their first drive of the game, and also couldn’t convert a fourth-and-two with less than three minutes left in the half.

Newport Harbor quarterback Zach Wade’s status for the Battle of the Bay is up in the air.

The senior left the game against Loyola late in the first half with what Brinkley called a foot injury. Wade never returned and was seen on crutches on the sideline.

“Hopefully it will be OK,” Brinkley said.

With four minutes remaining in the third quarter of Sage Hill’s 30-8 nonleague home loss to Capistrano Valley Christian on Friday, Lightning senior lineman Nick Francoeur exited the field while gingerly dangling his right arm in front of his chest. With sophomore starting quarterback CJ McCord already sidelined due to a broken arm, and junior lineman Lucas Ellison out at least five weeks with a separated left shoulder, the Lightning have been dismantled during an 0-3 start. With 31 players on the roster, and a handful out with serious injuries, it means more playing time for the younger players and less rest for the two-way starters.

To add to the Lightning trainer’s stress, senior receiver and defensive back Charlie Kim missed the fourth quarter Friday with a right-ankle injury. Kim’s upper ankle and lower calf were heavily bandaged as he struggled up the stairs from the playing field to the locker room.

With Kim being attended to on the sideline, senior defensive lineman Thomas Fenner struggled to pick himself up off the turf with a similar leg injury on the very next play. Fenner later returned to the game and caught a 23-yard pass that led to a touchdown with six seconds left to avert the shutout.

Costa Mesa senior kicker Jake Lux was consistently excellent Friday.

He made a 30-yard field goal in the first quarter and a 28-yarder in the fourth quarter. Three of Lux’s four kickoffs resulted in touchbacks.

Capistrano Valley Christian Coach Dan Dodd coached against Sage Hill head man J.R. Tolver in college. Dodd was an assistant on the New Mexico staff and Tolver was a wide receiver at San Diego State.

Tolver is set to be inducted into the Aztecs Hall of Fame on Sept. 21. As the Aztecs’ career receptions and receiving yards leader, Tolver said he is humbled by the selection, to say the least.

“That gave me chills when I found out,” he said. “I bled, sweat and cried at that university for five years. I’m an Aztec through and through. I didn’t have the professional career that I had hoped to have, so that part was a little disappointing, but to be honest, I’d take being inducted into the San Diego State Hall of Fame over a 10-year NFL career any day, because that program means the world to me. Just to be etched in stone as one of the best that has ever come through there is humbling. It’s a blessing and I’m excited about it.”

— From staff reports