Slow start dooms Estancia football as it drops to 0-3

It was a tale of two halves for the Estancia High football team Friday night. Although the Eagles were able to hang with Irvine High in the second half, the damage had already been done.

The host Vaqueros came out the gate firing, scoring 26 points in the first half, leading them to a 33-7 nonleague victory at Irvine Stadium.

The setback dropped Estancia to 0-3 for the first time in coach Mike Bargas’ 11-year tenure. The Eagles have now lost five in a row going back to last year.

“I thought our defense played pretty well in the second half and we had a couple of chances to get on the board, but we haven’t gotten quite together and we still have some things to figure out,” Bargas said.

Estancia’s offense mostly came from running back Trevor Pacheco, who tallied 127 yards on the ground.

Irvine’s offense still looked potent from last week’s 42-35 win against Western by scoring 33 unanswered points to open against Estancia.

Junior quarterback Marc Filia ran the offense successfully — passing for 140 yards and rushing for a touchdown.

The Vaqueros (3-1) were looking to pile on the points against the Eagles early on — converting on two two-point conversions and scoring on a 55-yard punt return by junior Bryce Tanikawa.

After a scoreless third quarter, Irvine was able to put a finishing blow with a goal line rush by senior Zeke Allman.

Despite the game being out of reach, the Eagles were able to prevent a shutout as senior running back Andy Martinez rumbled for an 11-yard touchdown with less than three minutes left in the game.

“The kids have had a great attitude,” Bargas said. “We know we have a good running back and defense, we just can’t get it together right now. Hopefully we will as we progress.”

Estancia continues to look for its first win next week against visiting University High.

Irvine 33, Estancia 7

Irvine…….. 8 18 0 7 — 33

Estancia.……0 0 0 7 — 7

FIRST QUARTER

Irvine – Bautista 1 YD run (Shank 2PT conversion), 7:17.

SECOND QUARTER

Irvine – Tanikawa 55 YD Punt Return (Yi kick), 11:38.

Irvine – Filia 6 YD run (Shank 2 PT conversion), 5:49.

Irvine – Yi 37 YD kick, 3:40.

FOURTH QUARTER

Irvine – Alleman 1 YD run (Yi kick), 11:57

Estancia – Martinez 11 YD run (Martinez kick), 2:39

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

Irvine – Bautista, 10-45, 1 TD.

Estancia – Pacheco, 21-127.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

Irvine – Filia, 13-19, 140.

Estancia – Durarte, 5-7, 37. 1 INT.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

Irvine – Fields 5-51.

Estancia – Lambert, 3-23.

JUAN CARLOS GONZALEZ is a contributor to Times Community News: Follow him on Twitter: @JGonzalezSports