Marinovich Leads Rout of Estancia

Todd Marinovich will have to wait another week before his name is inscribed atop one list in the Orange County high school football record book.

Needing 304 yards to become the county’s all-time leading passer Friday night, the Capistrano Valley junior quarterback riddled the Estancia secondary for 221 yards before retiring to the sidelines early in a 34-0 romp at Newport Harbor High.

Credit Cougars Coach Dick Enright with being merciful, so much so that Capistrano Valley opted for a field goal with a first down at the Estancia one-yard line in the opening quarter.

“See, I’m not such a bad guy after all,” said Enright, who has been accused of running up the score on more than one occasion. “Everybody thinks I’m a bad guy but they (the Eagles) don’t think so.”

Marinovich needed just two pass completions to leap past a former Capistrano Valley quarterback, Burt Call, into the No. 2 position on the Orange County passing yardage ladder. And with 102 yards on 6-for-8 passing in the first quarter, it appeared a matter of when, not if, he would overtake Newport Harbor’s Shane Foley for the all-time mark.

But after the Cougars picked apart the porous Estancia defense with ease, scoring on their first six possessions, Enright rested Marinovich on the final series of the first half.

The only decision Capistrano Valley had to make at the intermission was whether to let Marinovich shoot for the record against Estancia or save him for the upcoming home game against powerful Saddleback.

“We thought we’d see how he looked for one more series but by then he had cooled off,” said Enright. “Really, I’m not worried about the record. He’s got a year and a half left of high school. That’s plenty of time.”

Marinovich now has 5,182 yards in a three-year career that includes a two-year stint at Mater Dei. He needs 83 to better the 5,264 mark Foley set a year ago at Newport Harbor.

Capistrano Valley had great field position the entire first half, during which they started drives in Estancia territory on six occasions. On their first series, the Cougars started at the Eagles’ 29-yard line, where it took three plays to set up Tom Adams’ six-yard run.

Following an Adams interception, the first of four by the Cougars, Marinovich hit Steve Polti with a 36-yard touchdown strike and the rout was on.

After an interception by John Wilson was returned to the Estancia 23-yard line, Marinovich completed two passes to move the Cougars to within inches of the goal line. Enright surprisingly brought on his kicking unit, a pattern that would result in field goals of 17, 34, 22 and 21 yards by Kevin McKelvey.

ORANGE COUNTY PASSING LEADERS

Name School Years Yards Shane Foley Newport Harbor 1984-85 5,264 Todd Marinovich Capo Valley 1984- 5,182 Burt Call Capo Valley 1981-83 4,956 Mark Larsen Kennedy 1973-75 4,815 Jim McCahill Estancia 1979-81 4,609