Bubba Kapko

Patrick Laverty

Somebody forgot to tell Estancia High’s fullback that players with

the nickname Bubba are supposed to be opening holes, not plowing

through them.

Senior Bubba Kapko rushed for a career-high 160 yards on 22

carries and scored one touchdown, while also playing admirably at

linebacker in Estancia’s 24-8 season-opening victory over Magnolia.

It was the first time an Estancia player had surpassed 100 yards

rushing in 21 games, the last coming in Week 10 of the 2000 season.

Kapko, whose given name is Brian, was nicknamed Bubba when he was

a 3-year-old, running around while attending his older brothers’

baseball games.

“I was like 3 years old, so Bubba sounded fine,” Kapko said. “It

just kind of stuck.”

Now, the Eagles’ leading rusher has the nickname of a lineman.

Last week was not the first time Kapko has shredded the Magnolia

defense. He rushed for 81 yards on 12 carries and scored two

touchdowns in last year’s victory. But that Eagles squad didn’t win

another game in 2002 and Kapko never gained more than 66 yards in any

other contest.

But things are different at Estancia with the arrival of Coach

Craig Fertig, a former quarterback and assistant coach at USC who has

brought more discipline to the program, Kapko said.

“I went into the game with a must-win attitude because of all the

press we were getting because of Fertig. Because of his connections,

I knew a lot of people would be picking up the paper to see how we

did,” Kapko said.

He didn’t go into the game thinking he was going to get 22 carries

and be the team’s leading rusher.

With the coaching change, came a change in the offensive system.

Gone was the veer option the Eagles ran the last two seasons. In its

place was Fertig’s I-formation as he looked to establish a powerful

running game.

For a 5-foot-9, 225-pound fullback like Kapko, the I-formation

would seem to be a better fit. But he went into the game thinking he

would actually be more of a blocker for tailbacks Mike Cahill and

David Moreno.

“Truthfully, last year we ran the option more,” Kapko said. “I

kind of expected to get the ball. In our new system, I thought I

would be more of the conventional fullback. I wasn’t sure how often

I’d carry the ball. I was kind of surprised at the carries I got.”

What makes Kapko think the Eagles can continue to surprise

opponents?

“Our new coaches completely dissect the opposing defenses and

figure out where their weaknesses are,” Kapko said. “We also have a

good weight-training program in place and our linemen are bigger and

stronger.”

Those linemen did a good job of continually opening holes for

Kapko, who gained most of his yardage on the same play, a dive

between the guard and tackle.

On defense, Kapko and company didn’t allow Magnolia the same

opportunities. Estancia held Magnolia to 196 total yards, about half

of which came in the fourth quarter, after the game had been decided.

Like the changes on offense, the Eagles’ new system on defense,

which allows for a lot of movement and blitzing among the

linebackers, gave Kapko the opportunity to flourish.

“I love our new defense,” Kapko said. “It’s really fun. Last year,

I don’t know why, but we didn’t really blitz much.”

There are a lot of things different at Estancia compared to last

year, but the most important change is yet to come: more victories.