Extra Work Pays Off for Estancia’s Johner : Football: Sophomore quarterback, who will start tonight against Los Amigos, gave up starting pitcher’s job to sharpen his skills.

Sophomore Matt Johner was walking across the Estancia High School football field the other day, explaining his role as the Eagles’ starting quarterback, when a shadow crept up behind him.

The shadow belonged to senior center Artie Tovar, who had a bag of ice in his hand.

But the ice wasn’t in the bag for long. Tovar slipped behind his teammate and dumped the contents down Johner’s shoulder pads.

It was nothing personal. Just keeping the sophomore in line.

“Things are pretty loose around here,” Johner said as he shook ice out of his jersey. “Most of our team are juniors and a few seniors, and they’re a bunch of jokers. Artie always makes me laugh.”

Keeping the young left-hander at ease has been tough lately. Johner, 16, will start his first varsity game tonight when Estancia plays Los Amigos at Newport Harbor High School.

Johner, six feet and 165 pounds, wrestled the starting job away from junior Richard Buday. Johner learned Monday that he would start the season opener.

“I’m feeling a lot of pressure,” Johner said. “But I’m sure I’ll be OK after the first snap. It’s not that bad.”

But Johner, 16, admitted he’ll feel a few butterflies when he looks up in the stands. He has played quarterback for only 2 1/2 years. The biggest crowd he played in front of was 200, at last year’s Estancia-Corona del Mar freshman game.

“It’s different now,” Johner said. “It’s a new environment with the varsity. You have to work extra hard.”

He put in extra time this past spring, giving up his starting pitcher’s job with the baseball team to concentrate on football. Estancia football Coach John Liebengood said the extra work has paid off.

“Matt has one of the strongest arms I’ve seen on a kid his age (16),” Liebengood said. “He was as good or better as anyone we played this summer in (the) passing league.”

Also tonight:

Edison at El Modena: Edison’s defense was impressive in its opener, limiting Honolulu Iolani to 25 yards rushing in a 12-0 victory Friday night in Hawaii.

But the Chargers’ offense was as stable as a fault line, scoring only one touchdown and a field goal. While Edison already has a victory, El Modena has yet to play. The Vanguards hope to improve on last year’s 4-6-1 record with an experienced lineup that includes senior quarterback Adam Garcia, who’s in his third season as the starting quarterback.

In other games, Fullerton meets Anaheim at Glover Stadium; Garden Grove plays host to Savanna; St. John Bosco plays at Valencia; San Diego Hoover meets Trabuco Hills at Mission Viejo High School; Loara plays host to Western at Western, and Westminster meets La Quinta at Bolsa Grande.