Johner Finds His Form, Rallies Estancia Past Century

Estancia quarterback Matt Johner recovered from early difficulty to rally the Eagles twice and lead them to a 22-15 Pacific Coast League victory over Century Saturday night at Santa Ana Stadium.

Johner missed his first five passes, including one that was intercepted by Julio Bonilla and returned 81 yards for a touchdown and a 9-0 Centurion lead in the second quarter.

But Johner, a senior left-hander, found his touch and completed six of 15 passes for 180 yards and three touchdowns. He also intercepted a pass on the Eagles’ five-yard line with 55 seconds remaining.

Estancia (3-3, 1-0 in league) closed the gap to 9-7 at halftime when Johner hit Robert Rimi with a 23-yard touchdown pass with 1:10 remaining before intermission. Johner gave the Eagles their first lead early in the third quarter when he connected with Rimi again, this time for a 70-yard scoring pass and a 14-9 Eagle lead.

Century (1-4-1, 0-1) regained the lead, 15-14, after George Rodriguez recovered a muffed punt on the Eagle 25. Century quarterback Ricky Odoardi scored on a 20-yard run, but Julio Garcia’s two-point conversion run was short.

A bad snap over the punter’s head gave the Eagles possession on the Century 38. After Johner was sacked for a seven-yard loss, he hit William Nunez with a 45-yard touchdown pass on the next play. Jason Sweet caught a two-point conversion pass from Johner for a 22-15 lead.