Trabuco Hills Survives Estancia’s Comeback Try : Prep football: Mustangs remain in three-way tie for first in Pacific Coast League with 21-14 victory.

It was almost as if Trabuco Hills’ football team was waiting for something else to go wrong.

But it didn’t.

The Mustangs survived two injuries and a last-second comeback by Estancia for a 21-14 Pacific Coast League victory Friday night at Newport Harbor.

The victory lifted Trabuco Hills, ranked eighth in Orange County and first in Southern Section Division VIII, into a tie for the league lead at 3-1 with Century and Laguna Hills. The Mustangs (8-1) finish the league season next Friday night against Laguna Beach (0-4 in league).

Estancia (4-5, 2-2) had the ball and a chance to win, driving to the Trabuco Hills 14-yard line with 1 minute 9 seconds left.

But Matt Johner, who had earlier intercepted a Pat Barnes pass at the Estancia 27 to start the drive, threw over the heads of receiver Robert Rimi and Trabuco Hills defensive back Jake Galasso on fourth down.

“It was the wrong read,” said Johner, who intercepted two passes and rushed for 54 yards. “I had a guy open underneath (the coverage) on a curl pattern. I don’t know why I threw it.”

It was one of only a few good breaks for Trabuco Hills, slowed by center Brian Blake’s neck injury and an injury to Barnes’ left, non-throwing hand.

Blake was injured on a fumble return with 6:52 left in the second quarter. Trabuco Hills running back Sergio Gudowski ran 25 yards to the Estancia three, but fumbled as he went out of bounds.

Estancia’s Oscar Lomeli grabbed the ball and returned it to the Estancia 28. Blake got hurt trying to make the tackle.

Officials stopped play for 25 minutes while paramedics tended to Blake. He was taken to Hoag Hospital for X-rays, team doctor Hector Ramirez said.

“He had some feeling in his fingers,” Ramirez said. “But he was sore. The poor guy was very, very scared.”

Barnes threw three touchdown passes, including a 15-yarder to Matt Rechner and a five-yarder to Cordell Graham in the second half as Trabuco Hills pulled away after a 7-6 halftime lead.

Graham also caught a 59-yard touchdown pass from Barnes on the Mustangs’ fourth play from scrimmage.

Barnes completed only seven of 11 passes with two interceptions, but his 148 yards passing moved him into fifth place on Orange County’s career passing yardage list.

His 5,946 yards passed Fountain Valley’s Dave Henigan (5,879). Barnes, a senior and three-year starter, needs 215 yards to pass Los Alamitos’ Todd Gragnano for fourth place.

Trabuco Hills Coach Jim Barnett said a player stepped on Barnes’ hand in the first quarter. Barnes struggled handing the ball off for a few plays, but was fine by the second half.

“He might have busted a finger,” Barnett said. “He was lucky it wasn’t his throwing hand. He could have been out for the year.

“The hand was swollen, and it made it difficult for him. He’s a gutty kid. We had to have our best guys in there or we would have been beaten. They damn near beat us with our best guys in there.”

The Mustangs had a 21-6 lead and were in control, but Cody Charley broke loose for a 65-yard touchdown run with 1:40 left in the third quarter. Charley, who finished with 159 yards in 22 carries, added a two-point conversion run to make it 21-14.