Eagles looking to gain some ground

Estancia High football coach Brian Barnes has watched Bolsa Grande’s 2005 football team on film, in preparation for the teams’ meeting tonight at 7 at Orange Coast College.

What he has seen, he said, looks familiar.

“Last year, I know they struggled,” Barnes said. “But I watched them on film and their kids play hard. They were very similar to us last year. They did a lot of things to keep them in the game.”

Bolsa Grande finished 0-10. The Matadors have gone 2-38 in the past four years and have lost 16 straight.

But Barnes said Bolsa Grande has an unpredictable offense, which can be dangerous in high school football.

“They run some spread, some four-wide, a double-tight-end look,” Barnes said. “They could definitely beat some teams if you’re not ready. They’ve got about 50 kids out for football, and they’ll play hard.

“We’re expecting a close game this week,” he added. “We expect it to be a battle.”

Estancia, ranked No. 10 in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division, showed plenty of positives in last week’s 44-7 win over Mark Keppel. Junior quarterback Mike Morley had 259 passing yards and four touchdown passes. He also ran for two touchdowns.

But Barnes said he has been telling his players all week that they can’t take Bolsa for granted.

The Matadors are playing their first game of the season, and do have their share of seniors at the skill positions.

Quarterback Riley Wardel, featured running back Julio Sarmiento and receivers Juan Alcazar and Marcos Esquivel are all seniors.

“We’ve won one game,” Barnes said. “Last year, our kids took Buena Park for granted, and they handed us a pretty tough loss [17-8]. You can’t take anybody lightly.

“But the one advantage we’ll have is actually having a game under our belt. I think Bolsa Grande might have some of the first-game jitters and wrinkles.”

Estancia ran for 69 yards in the win over Keppel. Barnes said the goal this week is to have a 100-yard rusher against Bolsa’s four-three defensive scheme.

“We said from the get-go that we’re trying to establish the run,” Barnes said. “I think if you can establish the running game, it definitely opens up the passing game.”

It’ll be the second straight game at OCC for the Eagles.

“I think playing in that bowl setting takes some teams out of their realm,” Barnes said. “Hopefully, we’ll use that as an advantage.”

He said he also looks for continued standout play from the special teams. Against Keppel, kicker Diego Carrasco made four extra points, and Matt Redding had a 68-yard kickoff return and blocked two punts.

“In a game, there’s three parts: offense, defense and special teams,” Barnes said. “If you win at least two parts, you’ll probably win the game, and I thought we did that last week.”