COSTA MESA — Points were at a premium in the tightly contested Sigma League football game between Estancia and Calvary Chapel, so when the opportunity to win the game in overtime came, Estancia coach Mike Bargas knew it was time to go all in.
Estancia decided to go for the 2-point conversion after scoring in overtime.
Roy Brown appeared to score on the try, but he fumbled and Eagles lineman Ethan Mataia recovered the ball in the end zone to score the two points for a 15-14 victory over Calvary Chapel on Friday night at Estancia High.
“We rehearsed overtime, so we had a script ready for this thing and that was one of the things the kids were ready for,” Bargas said of going for two points after the TD.
After Matthew Peters gave Calvary Chapel a 14-7 lead in overtime, the Eagles responded with Jeff Brown’s 8-yard TD run. Instead of choosing to kick the extra point and extend the game to another possession, Bargas elected to go for the win outright.
“I’d rather go down fighting,” he said.
The Eagles lined up in a swinging gate formation and tight end Roy Brown took the direct snap and barreled across the goal line but lost the ball before breaking the plane.
Mataia alertly pounced on the loose ball to give Estancia (6-1, 2-0) the win.
It was another close loss for Calvary Chapel, as it suffered its third one-point loss of the season and fell to 2-5 overall and 1-1 in league.
“I feel bad for our guys but the great thing about being in this league is that the top three teams go to the playoffs,” Calvary Chapel coach Jack McInally said, “so our season’s not over. But tough, tough loss, it made the rest of our season a lot harder.”
Calvary Chapel used its defense to set up the first and only touchdown scored during regulation.
Jorge Brito picked off Heriberto Sanchez and returned it to the Estancia 3-yard line. Two plays later, Calvary Chapel quarterback Quinlan Russell scored on a 1-yard keeper.
Estancia committed five turnovers in total, four of those in the first half, but Calvary Chapel was unable to cash in the majority of those turnovers.
Calvary Chapel also had a 44-yard field goal blocked by Jorge Cortinas in the second quarter.
Estancia tied the game in the third quarter when Sanchez found Roy Brown for a 12-yard TD reception.
Early in the fourth quarter, Jeff Brown broke a 50-yard run that gave Estancia the ball at the Calvary Chapel 8. Brown finished with 202 yards rushing on 30 carries.
With the game tied 7-7 and Estancia threatening to take the lead, Peters ripped the ball away from Sanchez to regain possession.
Peters appeared to force another fumble with three minutes remaining while Estancia had the ball at its 44, but the official ruled that Sanchez’s arm was moving forward, making that play an incomplete pass.
“He gave me his explanation and I understood,” McInally said. “As much as it hurts, I’m never going to criticize a referee because they’re doing a really, really tough job.”
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