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September 29, 2024
By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X
COSTA MESA-For the first half of Artesia High’s contest at Estancia High, it was everything expected from a pair of teams entering with a combined record of 8-1. Both scored on their first two possessions of the game and by halftime, it was 21-21.
Then the Eagles took the lead for good to begin the second half, and added a safety one play later, all within the first four and a half minutes of the half. After that, the defenses took over and the Pioneers couldn’t sustain much in a 30-21 loss at Jim Scott Stadium, giving them their first loss in six games this season.
To add insult to injury, senior quarterback Charlie Lopez, who has accounted for 54 percent of Artesia’s total yards this season, left the game in the final minute as he was trying to rally his team. In the second to last possession for the Pioneers, Lopez had consecutive plays of negative yardage, one resulting in a fumble in which he recovered under a pile of Estancia players. When Artesia got the ball back with 53.3 seconds left in the game, he threw an incomplete pass, but the Eagles were called for a personal foul infraction after Lopez got drilled in the front side of his body.
Artesia head coach Connor Crook said Lopez was complaining about pain in either his stomach or ribs as he was being attended to inside the 10-yard line near the Estancia sideline. When he final stood up after being on the turn for several minutes, he started holding his forearm while walking back to the Artesia sideline.
“I think I’m going to have to talk to the doctors about it,” said Crook. “I think he’ll be okay, but we’re going to check him out.”
Junior quarterback Joey Peck came in and after an eight-yard pass to senior wide receiver Eduardo Ordaz, threw three straight incomplete passes to end the contest. But the Pioneers began the game like a team that was going for a sixth-straight victory, and it was all about Lopez and senior running back Julius Padilla. The latter began the game with a 17-yard run and would add runs of 11 and 12 yards on consecutive plays later in the drive.
On the eighth play of the drive, Lopez scored on a 13-yard run, which would be a theme the remainder of the first half. Estancia came back and rode the legs of Jeff Brown, it’s leading rusher this season, who gained 23 yards on the first three plays, then tied the contest on a three-yard run with 4:47 left in the stanza.
The Pioneers would need five plays to regain the lead with Lopez scampering 34 yards for a touchdown with 2:05 left. But that was short-lived as Brown tied the game with his 60-yard run less than a minute later. The game would take somewhat of a slight turn as Lopez and Padilla gained 20 yards on the final three plays of the quarter, then Artesia took eight minutes off the clock to begin the second quarter, only to see a fumble at the three-yard line end the scoring threat.
“That was big and that was something that was kind of a point of emphasis all week when we were talking about offense,” said Crook of the fumble. “When you play good teams, it comes down to a few plays, and usually it’s the plays where mistakes are made. I told them all week if we make mistakes, it’s going to be a long night, and we made some mistakes tonight.”
That would prove costly as the Eagles went the other way and took their first lead with 38.3 seconds left before halftime, a 34-yard touchdown pass from Heriberto Sanchez Martinez to Brandon Bettinghausen. Artesia stayed in the game because junior Joe Thomas returned the ensuing kickoff 51 yards, then Lopez made it three for three with his 21-yard score with 17.7 seconds left in the half.
He would gain 112 yards on 15 carries in the half while Padilla added 91 yards on 12 rushes as the two accounted for all but two plays in the half. On the other side of the field, the Eagles had the ball for less than eight minutes but gained 240 yards, thanks to the passing of Sanchez Martinez and the running of Brown, who combined for 215 yards.
The 21 points scored by Artesia in the half was already the most Estancia had given up in any game this season. Coming into the game with the Pioneers, the Eagles had posted two shutouts, allowed seven points to Katella High and lost to University High 13-6.
“I don’t think they threw us off guard,” said Crook. “We knew they were going to be tough and they’re 3-1 coming into this. Their defense, especially, has been really good the first four games, so we knew it was going to be a battle.”
The Eagles began the second half with the ball and on third and nine from their own 41-yard line, Sanchez Martinez connected with Joseth Zarate Groth for a 10-yard pass play. Brown then picked up 15 yards and four plays later, Bettinghausen hauled in a 30-yard touchdown pass. With the Pioneers beginning their initial drive of the half at the 14-yard line, a bad snap from center landed in the end zone where Estancia pounced on the pigskin for a safety and the last score of the game. It was the third bad snap from center in the contest and the Pioneers would be limited to 34 yards on 17 plays the remainder of the game.
“Same thing; little mistakes like that affect the game against good teams,” said Crook. “We’ve played a couple of teams that we were fortunate enough to be maybe more skilled or athletic than, and then those mistakes don’t really affect us in those games.
“We still made those mistakes in those games, but the kids overcame them,” he continued. “But when you play good teams, and we’re going to eventually play good teams in the future, mistakes like that will kill you.”
Estancia had a chance to go up 33-21 with 3:02 left in the third quarter, but a 38-yard field goal attempt from Steve Sanchez was unsuccessful. The Pioneers, behind a battered and bruised Lopez, drove from the 20-yard line to the Estancia 46-yard line. But on the third play of the fourth quarter, he was picked off by Sean Sweeney at the 23-yard line and the Pioneers would not get past their 32-yard line the rest of the way. It was the first of just two passes he attempted while finishing with 101 yards on 21 carries with five of those carries went for negative yardage.
“If he was good to go, he’s good to go,” said Crook. “And the doctors said he was good, and [Lopez] said he was good. When a kid is trying to tough something out, we’ll put him back in and let him tough it out.”
Padilla ended the night with 110 yards on 17 carries while on defense, junior lineman Maximus Garcia had nine tackles, followed by sophomore linebacker Robert Garcia with eight tackles and five each from senior lineman Gerson Juarez and senior linebackers Ahkil Sampson and DeAngelo Tucker. Brown led Estancia with 178 yards on 21 carries while Sanchez Martinez completed 16 passes, nine straight at one point in the second half, for 211 yards.
Artesia will play its final non-league game on Friday when it hosts Channel Islands High, a team it has never faced before and is 1-4 after losing to Bolsa Grande High 38-0 last Saturday. The Raiders have scored 35 points and have been blanked twice.
“I know they’re in a rough spot and they got a new coach late,” said Crook. “But he’s an NFL guy, so I’m sure he’s gotten some buzz around campus or whatever. I’m sure they’ll be okay. They didn’t have a good season last season. But they have one win, which is one more than they had last season. We’ll be ready to go.”
