HUNTINGTON BEACH – Estancia’s Mike Bargas didn’t shy away when he admitted to leaving the Eagles’ defense in a precarious position early in Friday night’s second half against Ocean View.
The Eagles coach chose to send his offense back on the field, facing a fourth-and-2 at their own 28-yard line, with a one-touchdown advantage.
Ocean View stuffed the run on a quarterback keeper, but Estancia proved its resiliency.
Powered by three second-half touchdowns, Estancia spoiled the Seahawks’ homecoming with a 34-20 win in the final nonleague matchup for both teams.
“I probably put the defense in a bad situation there, but sometimes you got to go with what the kids are feeling,” Bargas said. “We guessed wrong, but it didn’t hurt us at the end of the day.”
Holding a 14-7 advantage, Estancia’s failed fourth-down conversion saw Ocean View cap a seven-play scoring drive on Miguel Cardoso’s 2-yard run. The ensuing extra-point was blocked, and the Seahawks trailed, 14-13, with 7:14 remaining in the third.
But the Eagles quickly responded, scoring on short runs from Ronnie Urquiza and Tyler Thomas, along with Dylan Laurent’s 91-yard punt return for a touchdown, to take command.
“It’s always a good thing to go out with a win before league play,” Laurent said. “I think our line dominated and we had great blocks up front.”
Christian Laurent ran for a touchdown and caught another to propel the Eagles (3-2). He finished with 66 rushing yards and 56 receiving yards for Estancia, which has scored at least 34 points in each game this season.
Ocean View’s opening drive was its high point. The seven-play, 80-yard drive lasted just over two minutes and resulted in Blake Meyer’s 28-yard TD pass to Corey Tocchetti.
Christian Laurent scored on a 7-yard cutback run with 6:33 left in the second quarter.
