COSTA MESA – Estancia cruised to a 44-20 win over Loara on Thursday at Estancia High.
Eagles quarterback Eric Carrasco was 16 of 23 for 231 yards and a touchdown. Tyler Ross had 100 of those yards on seven catches.
The Estancia defense made things difficult for Loara quarterback Frankie Nocella. The senior was sacked five times.
With four minutes remaining in the first quarter, Estancia defensive lineman Jay Enciso recovered a fumble on the Saxon’s 12 yard line. On the ensuing play, Carrasco threw a touchdown pass to Trevor Brown to give the Eagles the early 7-0 lead.
Loara answered with a touchdown of their own on the ensuing drive. Nocella hit Pedro Zamora on a post route for a 24 yard touchdown to tie the game.
The Eagles responded with a long touchdown drive, capped of by a seven yard touchdown run by Jordan Balcazar.
With less than two minutes remaining in the first half, Carrasco led Estancia on an 82-yard touchdown drive. He completed all five of his pass attempts on the drive for 81 yards and then scored on a quarterback sneak to give Estancia a 21-7 lead entering halftime.
Estancia kicker Andy Martinez proved he has more to contribute than just field goals. The junior ran for 40 yards on just three carries in the opening drive of the second half, and finished the drive with a 29-yard field goal.
Balcazar put the game out of reach with a 65-yard touchdown run with 7:28 in the third quarter to give the Eagles a 30-7 lead.
The Estancia running game wore down the Saxons defense and drained the clock in the fourth quarter. The Eagles rushed for 219 yards and five touchdowns.
