DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK:

Carlos Mendez never forgets the first time his good friend and left tackle Jose Padilla brought up Estancia High football.

Mendez never got a word in during the conversation four years ago.

Padilla never gave him the chance.

Padilla had just left an off-season practice when he ran into Mendez and another friend on the street.

Short on players, Padilla asked what any coach hopes for before the season. Their help to recruit freshmen.

“I asked his friend to join,” said Padilla, never thinking to ask Mendez, his friend since fifth grade.

“I was like, ‘What the heck?’ ” said Mendez, keeping the comments to himself at the time while he stood next to his friend.

“I just felt like, ‘OK! Whatever!’ ”

Padilla to this day sticks behind his reason for not inviting Mendez.

“I always thought Carlos was a soccer player,” Padilla said. “We’d always see him playing soccer.”

Other friends told Mendez about the team.

“He came and watched us the first game,” Padilla said. “After the second week, he came out. He was still a soccer player.

“He didn’t get it at first, but now he does.”

Mendez is what you call in professional sports a franchise player.

In his two varsity seasons, Mendez has shown he’s the premier running back in town.

As a senior, Mendez has rushed for 1,012 yards and eight touchdowns, both stats are Newport-Mesa bests this season.

Mendez has a chance to top the school’s single-season rushing record, which he set last year with 1,584 yards while scoring 13 touchdowns.

The Eagles mostly likely need to play more than the final two regular-season games in the Orange Coast League for Mendez to surpass the total.

Mendez, the Orange Coast League Co-MVP last season, is counting on extra games.

Estancia (3-5, 1-1 in league) is back in playoff contention after Mendez regained his shifty, hard-nosed running form last week in a 41-7 rout of Godinez.

A bye week heading into the Godinez game allowed the 5-foot-7, 162-pounder to forget about his 23-yard performance on 15 carries in Estancia’s fourth straight defeat, a 14-7 tough one to crosstown rival Costa Mesa in the Battle for the Bell game.

Padilla and the rest of the line, which includes another childhood friend, Freddy Garcia, opened holes for Mendez to score a season-best three touchdowns and also gain 142 yards on 17 carries against the Grizzlies.

Estancia’s blowout sets up tonight’s 7 o’clock showdown at Laguna Beach.

The Breakers (3-5, 2-0 in league) are in the position Estancia was in last year before sharing the league title with Costa Mesa.

The Eagles want a piece of league again. Knocking off Laguna Beach is a good start.

“When we lost [to the Mustangs], I was like, ‘Wow! We hadn’t lost in four years [to them],’ ” Mendez said. “We had to move on. Things happen.”

A lot happened to Estancia during its skid. Second-year coach Mike Bargas overhauled the starting lineups.

Bargas replaced the quarterback and is now starting junior Alek Kirshner.

He switched Padilla from right tackle to left tackle, a move taking Michael Renteria from left tackle to right tackle.

It gets confusing at times that Bargas has to ask an assistant coach what position a player is now playing.

The team’s philosophy, which most teams follow, is competing with the best players. That’s changed at Estancia.

“Every practice is kind of a test to see whoever plays the best is going to be the guy [starting],” Bargas said. “One of the personnel changes that we haven’t had to make is obvious.”

Mendez has been Estancia’s rock. Padilla and Garcia never expected it to be this way.

“He used to be the kid who used to get picked on a lot,” Garcia said. “I don’t know, but out of nowhere, he starting becoming a stud in football and everybody started chanting his name.

“We make him famous.”

Mendez loves the limelight. He doesn’t even have to say a word when Estancia football comes up because Carlos Mendez is all you hear about.