Week 1 High School Football Preview: Estancia vs. Loara

When/where: 7 p.m. Thursday at Western High

Key Eagles: Sr. FB/MLB Gannon Griffin; Jr. QB Kyle Blinn; Jr. RB/CB Beto Sotomayor

Key Saxons: Sr. WR/CB Leiron San Diego; Sr. WR Aldo Violante

Breakdown: Estancia opens its season against Loara for the eighth consecutive year. The Eagles have gone 5-2 versus the Saxons in those previous seven openers … A new-look backfield will feature first-year starters for the Eagles in Blinn at quarterback and Sotomayor at running back. Sotomayor should get ample opportunity to have success on the ground, as recent graduate Trevor Pacheco had back-to-back seasons of 1,500 rushing yards with the Eagles … Estancia’s impact returners reside on the defensive side of the ball in the form of Griffin, a senior inside linebacker, and senior outside linebacker Nathan Pacheco … Estancia went 6-4 overall and 3-2 to finish third in the Orange Coast League in 2018, but it did not qualify for the CIF Southern Section Division 13 playoffs … Loara finished last season at 8-4, advancing to the second round of the Division 13 playoffs.

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