Eagles run over Seahawks

HUNTINGTON BEACH — On the second play from scrimmage, Ocean View High running back Christian Nagel took the ball 76 yards for a touchdown.

But, Estancia spent the rest of the game making sure the lapse wouldn’t happen again.

The Eagles used a mixture of passing and a 142-yard rushing night from Rafael Alejandre, pulling away in the second half for a 35-7 nonleague win at Ocean View High.

Julio Medero, Edgar Vargas and Brian Harriman all had second-half interceptions for Estancia as the defense tightened up.

Nagel’s run, on an option pitch from Seahawks quarterback Dana Maley, perhaps served as a wake-up call for Estancia (5-1). Not that the Eagles needed it after losing to Ocean View (1-4) last year.

“We talked about it after that run, like ‘We need to step it up,’” Vargas said. “We had to play intense and play assignment football. We had a bad week of practice, but we came into this game fired up. We played hard every down.”

The Eagles responded to the Seahawks with a 15-play drive that took over seven minutes. It was capped on fourth-and-goal at the Ocean View 16, when Estancia quarterback Mike Morley found Matt Redding just a yard into the end zone to tie the game.

“They couldn’t stop us,” Morley said. “They were saying, ‘Look out for No. 88 [Redding],’ but the linemen were also key. It’s all about our linemen.”

The offensive line also helped Estancia in the second quarter, when the Eagles went on another long drive that appeared to stall at the Ocean View 10.

But Estancia Coach Brian Barnes went for it again on fourth-and-six, and Morley found older brother Tim Morley in the middle of the end zone for a 14-7 Eagles’ lead.

“On the second score to Tim, we knew that if Mikey read it right it’d be a touchdown, and it was,” Barnes said. “He’s really maturing as a quarterback.”

The second touchdown gave Estancia a halftime lead, but the game was in doubt until an intense Estancia defense started hurting the Seahawks’ cause.

Redding’s hard hit midway through the third quarter forced the Seahawks to fumble, and Julio Medero recovered at the Ocean View 30.

Two plays later, Alejandre ran it in for a 21-7 Eagles lead.

Early in the fourth, Medero again came up big. Maley’s pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage by Estancia defensive end Connor McKendry, and the ball floated up into the air.

Medero grabbed it and ran it 50 yards back into the end zone, giving the Eagles a three-touchdown advantage.

“Their quarterback’s a real young guy, and we knew that our defense could make some plays on him,” Barnes said. “We made some interceptions at the end of the game that really helped us.”

Three plays later, Vargas’s interception gave Estancia the ball back on the Ocean View 41. After nine consecutive runs, Alejandre scored the game’s final touchdown, from four yards out.

“This is a really good feeling,” Redding said. “We’re setting a new tone for Estancia, and we’re going to be looking for another win next week.”