High School Football Preview: Estancia will hit the road in 2019
The Estancia High football team did a lot of things right in 2018.
With nonleague victories over Loara, La Quinta and Santiago to open the season, the Eagles got off to their first 3-0 start in coach Mike Bargas’ 12-year tenure. When the Orange Coast League came around, Estancia remained solid, finishing 3-2 in league with losses to Santa Ana and Orange.
The Saints advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division 8 semifinals, and the Panthers lost in the first round in Division 9. Combined, they kept Estancia out of the postseason.
Despite finishing third in the six-team league, the Eagles failed to make the Division 13 playoffs.
Estancia remains in Division 13 for Bargas’ 13th year in charge. The scenario remains the same, he said. A third-place finish likely means no postseason berth.
“We were ranked in the top 10 [in Division 13], we ended up beating Costa Mesa pretty good [75-0 in the league finale] and we don’t get a nod,” Bargas said. “We had a good record, and we were competitive, and we didn’t get the nod. I knew it was coming, but it just sucks to have to face your kids. They were thinking we might have a chance, but it didn’t work out that way.”
Estancia appears young this season. Senior Jaycen Cash, a left-hander who started at quarterback the last two years, transferred to Mission Viejo. The Eagles lost running back Trevor Pacheco, who rushed for 1,534 yards and 19 touchdowns last year, to graduation.
Estancia also lost its home stadium, as Bargas said that Jim Scott Stadium is shut down until at least the winter. As the stadium’s turf was getting replaced this summer, water was found underneath and it wasn’t draining properly, he said.
Estancia will play home games against La Quinta (Sept. 6), Santiago (Sept. 12) and Ocean View (Sept. 19), as well as the league opener against Calvary Chapel on Oct. 3, at Orange Coast College. The Eagles’ final two scheduled home games, against Saddleback (Oct. 10) and Santa Ana (Oct. 25), will be played at Costa Mesa High.
Junior Kyle Blinn is set to step in as the Eagles’ starting quarterback, Bargas said. Blinn is the youngest of four siblings to come through the Estancia athletics program, as older sisters, Danielle and Nikki, played volleyball and water polo, respectively, while his brother, Jake, also played water polo.
“Kyle was getting first [team] reps [in the spring] because Cash was running track,” Bargas said. “I started getting him ready, because I had a feeling that Cash may leave. It ended up happening. After a while, you kind of sense these things.
“He’s an athlete, he’s a good looking kid. Pretty smart. I just need to get him a little bit more confident on the football field, but he’s the guy right now and he’s doing a great job.”
Beto Sotomayor, Pacheco’s backup last year, should see plenty of touches at running back. So should fellow junior Jeremiah Davis, a transfer from Claremont High. The receivers include senior Tony Valdez, junior Damian Valdez and junior Jack Burns. Of the three players, Tony Valdez is the returning starter, as he was the Eagles’ No. 3 receiver last year.
Senior center Margarito Olivera and junior left tackle Bryan Augustin are the returning starters on the offensive line, a group that also includes junior left guard Ethan Rodriguez, junior right guard Jacob Potts and junior right tackle Chris Pacheco.
“We’re young, but I feel that we’ve got a good group of guys that are going to make plays out there on the field,” Olivera said. “I think it’s just about keeping the guys motivated to win. With one loss, some of those guys put their heads down. You’ve got to motivate them to get past that and just do the little things better and better.”
Bargas said that senior Mario Mondragon, who played defensive end last year, will move to outside linebacker. That leaves junior Cameron Ruehling as the only returning starter on the defensive line.
Senior linebackers Nathan Pacheco and Gannon Griffin return to anchor a strong group. Nathan Pacheco, who had 72 tackles last season, is the team’s only returning first-team All-Orange Coast League player, while Griffin has verbally committed to the University of Puget Sound.
“We have a lot of young talent this year,” Griffin said. “We’re definitely making up spots, but I think that we have the energy, the enthusiasm, the toughness. Even though we lost a lot of senior guys, I think we’ll be able to fill the spots pretty well.
“Hopefully we can beat one of those teams [in league], either Orange or Santa Ana. The thing about last year, we beat teams that went to CIF, like Loara for example. La Quinta, we beat them 55-21 and they went to the playoffs. It was irritating, but that’s just how our league is.”
The Estancia secondary will include Sotomayor and Davis at cornerback, with juniors Lucas Pacheco and Elijah Montoya at safety.
The juniors will have to grow up quickly for Estancia to be able to push for its first postseason appearance since 2014. Estancia opens its season against Loara on Thursday at Western High at 7 p.m.
“There are a lot of unknowns for us, just because we are so young,” Bargas said.
ESTANCIA EAGLES
CIF Southern Section Division: 13
Coach: Mike Bargas (13th year)
Staff: Chris Bargas (defensive coordinator/secondary/special teams), D.J. Jett (inside linebackers), Mike Ortiz (outside linebackers), Bill Brown (running backs/defensive line), Matt Redding (wide receivers), Juan Lozada (defensive line), Wilmer Sanchez (wide receivers/secondary)
2018 season: 6-4 overall, 3-2 in the Orange Coast League (third place)
Offensive scheme: West Coast, two back
Defensive scheme: 3-4
Returning offensive starters: Three
Returning defensive starters: Four
Returning with honors: Sr. LB Nathan Pacheco
SCHEDULE
August
29 — vs. Loara at Western High
September
6 — vs. La Quinta at Orange Coast College, 7:30 p.m.
12 — vs. Santiago at Orange Coast College, 7:30 p.m.
19 — vs. Ocean View at Orange Coast College, 7:30 p.m.
27 — at Laguna Beach
October
3 — vs. Calvary Chapel* at Orange Coast College, 7:30 p.m.
10— vs. Saddleback* at Costa Mesa High
17 — vs. Orange* at Segerstrom High
25 — vs. Santa Ana* at Costa Mesa High
November
1 — at Costa Mesa*
*denotes league game
All games 7 p.m. unless noted
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