COSTA MESA – Dylan Laurent scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and Estancia rallied to defeat Laguna Beach, 17-6, on Friday night in an Orange Coast League game at Estancia High.
The Eagles (6-2, 3-0) won their fifth consecutive game en route to taking sole possession of first place in the Orange Coast League. Estancia will play host to Saddleback in the regular-season finale on Nov. 7.
After a commanding victory against Costa Mesa last week, the Eagles expected to ride that wave of momentum into their matchup with the Breakers (1-7, 0-3).
Friday’s contest left Estancia coach Mike Bargas looking for a better effort, recognizing that an ugly win was better than no win at all.
“As you win, you get to create your own destiny,” he said. “We have a lot of mistakes to clean up, but we’re at least in the driver seat (in league).
A bruising first half yielded a 3-3 tie. Bruce Knill broke a 39-yard run to set up a Max Casper 41-yard field goal, which gave Laguna Beach a 6-3 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Laurent provided the heroics as his 23-yard touchdown run with 11:04 remaining gave the Eagles their first lead of the game. He finished with 114 yards.
Jack Simon’s 46-yard pass to Brett Tracy got the Breakers into the red zone late, but the Eagles’ defense held firm.
