Pacheco runs wild in Estancia’s fourth straight Battle for the Bell victory

For the first time in Estancia High football coach Mike Bargas’ 11-year tenure, the Eagles had to travel across town for the Battle for the Bell game.

Rival Costa Mesa has had an on-campus field for two seasons now, and the Mustangs hosted the Orange Coast League game Friday night. Bargas said the Eagles had some time before the game, since they left Estancia at 4 p.m., three hours before game time.

“I’m a creature of habit,” Bargas said. “We had about an hour and a half to kill, but I didn’t want to leave anything to chance. It’s a great stadium, a really nice stadium.”

When it came to the game itself, the Eagles also didn’t leave much to chance. A steady diet of junior running back Trevor Pacheco made sure that Estancia had a diet of Newport Rib Co. after earning a 44-20 victory over the Mustangs, the Eagles’ fourth straight victory in the series.

Pacheco had 25 carries for 200 yards and four touchdowns. He also completed a 30-yard pass to junior receiver Nathan Guyot, and came through on defense with an interception on the game’s first play from scrimmage.

Costa Mesa senior quarterback Ben Swanson tried to go deep over the middle, but the ball was underthrown a bit and Pacheco was there to snag it at the Estancia 30-yard line.

“First play of the game,” Pacheco said. “I just saw the ball coming and I just knew it was mine.”

Pacheco had fun in his first Battle for the Bell game, after missing last season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus suffered while playing rugby. On Friday, he got to 200 yards rushing for the second straight game in league. This was one the Eagles (2-6, 2-1 in league) had to have, Bargas said, if they want to make the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

“It keeps us alive,” said Bargas, whose team closes out league at Laguna Beach next week and home against Godinez on Nov. 3. “I told the kids we’ve got to go 3-0 [to finish league and] shoot for the [CIF Southern Section Division 13] playoffs. If you do that, then you’re at least going to be tied for second or first.”

Pacheco helped the Eagles build a 17-0 lead in the second quarter. Their first drive ended with a 31-yard field goal from Andy Martinez, and the second and third drives ended with Pacheco touchdown runs of 24 and one yard, respectively. He said he couldn’t do it without the Eagles’ offensive line of senior left tackle Jorge Castellanos, junior left guard Sebastian Rivera, senior center Francisco Zamora, junior right guard Raul Gonzalez and senior right tackle Ervin Mauga.

“They played hard, but thank God we played harder,” Gonzalez said. “Trevor made plays happen. We just made the holes for him, and he was gone.”

Costa Mesa (3-5, 0-3) was most likely knocked out of playoff contention. The Mustangs had just one total yard on their first three drives, finally getting on the scoreboard on Swanson’s four-yard keeper midway through the second quarter. That narrowed the deficit to 17-7, but Estancia responded with a drive capped by Pacheco’s third touchdown of the night, from three yards out.

The Eagles went on an 11-play, 73-yard drive to start the second half, ending it as sophomore quarterback Jaycen Cash found the end zone from a yard away. Three plays later, a second interception hurt the Mustangs.

Martinez read a short screen pass perfectly, intercepting the ball and rumbling 28 yards for a touchdown. It effectively iced the game, giving Estancia a 37-7 lead midway through the third quarter.

The Mustangs got two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including a 27-yard run by Angel Valle, but it wasn’t nearly enough to come back. Costa Mesa coach Glen Fisher quickly walked off the field following the game.

“I got nothing,” said Fisher, who has never beaten Estancia during his three years at the helm of Costa Mesa. “They beat us. Congratulations to them.”

Bargas, who has won seven of his last eight Battle for the Bell games against Costa Mesa, showed that it didn’t necessarily matter where the game was played. Estancia leads the series 31-19-1.

“Defense played great, and special teams put us in a good position,” Bargas said. “We guessed right on offense tonight, so we were able to score pretty much every chance we had. It was pretty complete for us.”

*

Estancia 44, Costa Mesa 20

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Estancia 10 – 14 – 13 – 7 — 44

Costa Mesa 0 – 7 – 0 – 13 — 20

FIRST QUARTER

E – Martinez 31 FG, 6:53.

E – T. Pacheco 24 run (Martinez kick), 2:16.

SECOND QUARTER

E – T. Pacheco 1 run (Martinez kick), 9:38.

CM – Swanson 4 run (Olmedo kick), 7:50.

E – T. Pacheco 3 run (Martinez kick), 2:43.

THIRD QUARTER

E – Cash 1 run (run failed), 6:16.

E – Martinez 28 INT return (Martinez kick), 4:48.

FOURTH QUARTER

CM – Gonzalez 1 pass from Swanson (Olmedo kick), 9:41.

E – T. Pacheco 7 run (Martinez kick), 8:46.

CM – Valle 27 run (kick failed), 2:13.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

E – T. Pacheco, 25-200, 4 TDs.

CM – Romero, 6-57.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

E – Cash, 9-14-0, 139.

CM – Swanson, 14-24-2, 132, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

E – Guyot, 3-47.

CM – Perez, 5-46.

matthew.szabo@latimes.com

Twitter: @mjszabo