Eagles, Seahawks seek big finish

Barry Faulkner

Two football teams in search of a happy ending will pursue that

opportunity Friday at 7 p.m. when Estancia High hosts Golden West

League rival Ocean View in the season finale for both teams at Orange

Coast College.

Estancia (1-8, 0-5 in league) has lost eight straight since a

season-opening win over Magnolia. The Eagles are 1-17 since the start

of last year’s season.

Ocean View (1-8, 0-5) is aiming to end a six-game losing streak

that followed the Seahawks’ Week 3 win over a Canyon squad that will

play for a share of the Century League title this week.

After dropping competitive league contests to Orange, 34-21 in

Week 5, and Santa Ana, 35-27 in week 7, the Seahawks have been

overwhelmed the last two weeks. Last week’s 26-0 loss to Saddleback

followed a 50-16 nonleague setback to Rancho Alamitos.

The shutout last week was the Seahawks’ first of the season.

Estancia, blanked four times this fall, broke a three-game

scoreless streak in last week’s 58-7 nonleague loss to Pacifica. The

Eagles’ 54 points this season are tied with Tesoro for the fewest in

Orange County. Only one Estancia team has scored fewer points in one

season, 52 in the nine-game 1973 campaign.

The Eagles have been outscored, 179-7, since playing Saddleback

tough in 24-14 Week 5 defeat. Pacifica’s 58 points were the most by

an Estancia opponent in the program’s 38 varsity seasons and the

Eagles have allowed 321 points this season, 16 shy of surpassing the

record set by the 1986 squad which finished 0-10.

Nearly two-thirds of Estancia’s 1,468 offensive yards have come

through the air. Junior quarterback Brad Young has completed 72 of

184 passes for 790 yards and three touchdowns, with six

interceptions. He comes off what Coach Jay Noonan called his most

poised performance of the season against Pacifica.

Estancia’s receiving corps includes seniors Javy Ramirez (18

catches for 245 yards), former quarterback Lewis Bradshaw (14 catches

for 272 yards and one TD), tight end Jermaine Young (16 catches for

174 yards and one TD) and Louis Valdes Jr. (14 catches for 159

yards).

Estancia’s leading rusher is junior fullback Bubba Kapko, who has

collected 309 yards and five TDs on 74 carries.

“We have an opportunity to finish out the season strong and we

need to take advantage of it,” Estancia Coach Jay Noonan said.

Ocean View is paced offensively by junior quarterback Alex

Hickerson and junior running back Aaron Gonya.

Hickerson has completed 121 of 268 passes for 1,334 yards and 10

TDs, with 14 interceptions.

Gonya has rushed for 863 yards and two TDs on 143 carries, while

also hauling in 13 passes for 65 yards and one TD.

Seniors Shawn Kim (37 catches for 339 yards and one TD), Justin

Roth (30 catches for 319 yards and two TDs), Rick Sweetin (16 catches

for 268 yards and six TDs) and Americo Lopez (16 catches for 194

yards) are Hickerson’s favorite targets.

This is the two teams’ first meeting since 1997.

Estancia won all four meetings in the 1990s and leads the series,

5-2.