FAITH BAPTIST BREADWINNER : ‘Loafie’ Estrada Serves as the Contenders’ Meal Ticket

Great moments in spontaneous humor at Faith Baptist High, where unintentional puns about Alex (Loafie) Estrada fill the air more often than three-point shots. . . .

All are courtesy of Stuart Mason, who has coached Estrada for the past four basketball seasons. Selected genuine Mason classics follow:

* “When the heat’s on, Loaf will rise to the occasion.”

* “No matter how you slice it, Loaf’s the guy who runs the show.”

* “Loaf’s always there when we knead him.”

OK, so the spelling was changed on the last one, but the statements underscore Mason’s point. For the second time in three seasons, Estrada appears poised to lead the Contenders to the Southern Section final. And to be sure, the senior guard is Faith Baptist’s bread and butter.

But first things first: the moniker.

Nobody calls Estrada by his given name. Not his family, his classmates or his coach. For each of his 17 years, Estrada has answered to “Loafie,” a nickname given by his father. Sometimes he hears the shorthand version, “Loaf.”

Estrada is no couch potato and certainly is no loafer--in fact, his off-season is all of about 24 hours long. Nor does he sport slip-on, yuppie leather shoes with pennies in front. Athletic shoes are his footwear of choice.

Nope, Estrada was named after a brand of Milwaukee bread, Neloaf. His father believed that Alex--curled up in his swaddling clothes--looked like a freshly baked loaf, or so the family legend goes. Good thing the family wasn’t big on croissants.

Nicknames aside, Estrada is one of the area’s most decorated athletes and the proof is hanging on the gym walls in the form of Southern Section championship banners.

In Estrada’s tenure at Faith Baptist, the Contenders have won section titles in basketball (1-A Division in 1989-90) and eight-man football (1991). When he isn’t serving as the centerpiece in the winter and fall, he is the center fielder on the baseball team.

So many sports, so little time. If it’s leather, chances are that Estrada will throw it, kick it, catch it or hit it. The Contenders won the section eight-man football title Nov. 30, and Estrada put on a show. Faith Baptist used Estrada, a wingback, as its Raghib (Rocket) Ismael, and did he turn on the jets.

Estrada scored on runs of one and 22 yards, on pass receptions of 26 and 36 yards, on a 72-yard punt return and a 61-yard interception return to lead the Contenders (10-0) past Hesperia Christian, 52-14.

“He’s easily regarded as the best athlete that’s ever been at the school,” Mason said.

A few weeks after the championship game, Cal-Hi Sports magazine named Estrada the state eight-man player of the year. The same publication also placed Estrada on its preseason all-state basketball list in Division V. Based on his career statistics, it was no shot in the dark.

As the starting point guard over the past three seasons, Estrada has averaged 20.1 points and 7.2 assists a game. When the clock is ticking down to a precious few seconds, Estrada is second to none.

“When it’s crunch time, if I could pick one guy who I’d want to have the ball in the last 10 seconds of a tie in the CIF championship game, it would be Loafie,” Mason said.

Mason has seen Estrada work his last-second magic often. In a key game against rival Campbell Hall on Feb. 5, Estrada gathered a rebound and raced down the floor while the clock counted down Faith Baptist’s shot at a Delphic League title. The Contenders trailed by one, but as Mason might put it, Loaf didn’t crumble.

Estrada somehow scored on an off-balance, running jump shot over the flailing arms of 6-foot-10 center Alex Lopez to hand the Contenders a 71-70 victory. Faith Baptist had trailed by 10 points with little more than five minutes remaining, and the victory kept the Contenders apace of Crossroads, with which they would share the league championship.

Estrada scored six points in the final minute, and said of the decisive, soaring shot over Lopez: “I must have had an angel in my pocket.”

Or springs in his shoes. Truth be told, Estrada is capable of dunking a basketball--if only his hands were large enough to palm the ball. But then, everything about Estrada revolves around size and stature.

At 5-8, 155 pounds, Estrada is an average-sized fish in a small pond. Faith Baptist, located in Canoga Park, has just 176 students enrolled in grades nine through 12, and fewer than half are male. The Delphic League contains schools of similar ilk: small, private, many with religious affiliations.

Yet as far as balanced competition goes, the Delphic might be unmatched in terms of depth. One coach dubbed it the “Big East,” in reference to the ultra-competitive college conference. Big Easy, it isn’t.

After Tuesday’s second-round games in the section playoffs, five of the seven teams from the Delphic were still alive. Faith Baptist (22-5) is seeded second in Division V-AA and will play host to Chadwick (15-11) tonight at 7:30.

“Something that some people take for granted is that basketball at the Small School level is not good, that there is no competition,” Mason said. “Shoot, that’s just not true.”

Here’s the smoking gun: At least one team from the Delphic League has won a section title in five of the past six seasons.

When Whitney joined the league this season, it brought to seven the number of section titles won by Delphic teams in the past six years. Faith Baptist, Bel-Air Prep, Brentwood and Crossroads (two) also won titles in that span. Whitney won Small Schools titles in 1985-86 and 1986-87. League members Brentwood and Campbell Hall played in the Division V-AA final last season.

Faith Baptist, fielding perhaps its best team, tried to shake the small-time label by entering the Thousand Oaks tournament in December. The Contenders finished 2-2 and defeated Oxnard (enrollment 2,300) and Newbury Park (1,470). Faith Baptist lost to Thousand Oaks (enrollment 2,250) by four points and Hueneme (1,950) by two in overtime.

“The team ran real well and (Estrada) seemed to make them go,” said Newbury Park Coach Greg Ropes, whose team is still alive in Division III-AA. “Boy, did they run. Run and shoot it, run and shoot it.”

Loafie is surely the top gun on campus. Schoolchildren--Faith Baptist includes grades K-12--idolize him. They tug at his shirttail and vie for attention.

“Everybody knows everybody at this school, it’s so small,” Estrada said, blushing. “But all the little kids look up to me, and I like that. We play around with them, they like to hang out with us.”

Not that he has much time to hang loose. Faith Baptist won its eight-man football title on a Saturday. Monday, Estrada reported to basketball practice. On Tuesday, he played in a game.

“I was sore too,” Estrada said. “I wanted to take a few weeks off--I wasn’t even sure I was gonna play basketball this year.

“But they talked to me and said I needed to get in the swing of things as a tuneup for league.”

It didn’t take much arm-twisting. A kid named Loafie knows too well that man can’t live on bread alone.