IRVINE — Dylan Elmer wasn’t even supposed to start. The sophomore made his way onto the field for University’s first offensive possession Thursday night because quarterback Justin Tribble was having an equipment issue.
And then Elmer looked awesome. Nine pass attempts, seven completions and a touchdown that was enough to lift University to an eventual 13-6 football nonleague victory over Estancia.
“He’s the future,” said University coach Vince Mesa.
Elmer finished 13 of 23 for 155 yards, an interception and a touchdown.
“I wasn’t supposed to go in,” he said of his moment of destiny. “It was a methodical drive, everyone was touching the ball. Our O-line was really good, the most time I’ve ever had.”
It may have felt like everyone was touching the ball, but Elmer was living off of Carl Oldham and Cruz McMullens on the opening drive. He completed four passes for 29 yards to Oldham, and three passes for 39 yards to McMullens, including a touchdown of 16 yards as the junior receiver made a nice sliding catch in the end zone.
But McMullens’ big play never would have happened without fourth-and-8 that was converted two plays earlier, an 11-yard pass to Oldham.
On the night, Oldham caught six passes for 39 yards and McMullens caught four for 56.
Tribble made himself known as well. When Mesa says both his QBs bring something to the table, he clearly means Tribble’s running ability.
Tribble worked the wildcat to success early, but he also caught two passes for 41 yards, including a 30-yarder that was critical to Estancia’s field goal to end the first half.
When University was trying to close the show on its first victory of the season, it was the senior who was on the field taking more than six minutes off the final 8 minutes 51 seconds to seal the victory.
“He’s a great mentor,” Elmer said of Tribble.
“That means a lot,” Tribble said. “We have a great connection.”
University (1-2) still has plenty to improve upon but it was able to create five turnovers that throttled Estancia’s offense most of the night. The Eagles lost four fumbles and an interception.
Diego Sosa recovered two fumbles, and Lucas Thune and Maxson Encheff had the others. Encheff also had two sacks.
University got two field goals in the second quarter from Jake Rabold to extend the Trojans’ lead to 13-0.
Rabold delivered a 27-yard field goal with about 2:15 left in the half. Then the defense shut down Estancia and got a turnover when Encheff jumped on the loose ball with 50 seconds left.
Elmer hit Tribble for 30 yards and Zion Barreto ran for 11. An incomplete pass and a penalty set up Rabold for a 40-yard field goal as time ticked off the clock.
“Our defense kept us in the game,” said Estancia coach Mike Bargas, whose team dropped to 2-1 after outscoring its first two opponents 35-7. “We just couldn’t capitalize on our opportunities. You can’t win with five turnovers.”
Estancia’s offense revolved entirely around junior Jeff Brown, but he got an assist from Brandon Bettinghausen to open the second half. Bettinghausen returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a TD. After the missed point-after, the Eagles had wiped out most of the deficit and at 13-6 were positioned to win if they could punch the ball across the goal line.
And in Brown, they seemed to have the offensive workhorse to carry them. He ran 20 times for 133 yards, but indicative of the Eagles’ frustrations, even he fumbled – after a 10-yard gain. And the rest of the offense was practically non-existent. Estancia completed only 4 of 13 passes for 8 yards, and netted 0 yards rushing on seven carries that didn’t include Brown.
The night belonged to University, which Mesa said is a young team trying to learn how to win. And they did. They forced some turnovers. They protected a lead. Their sophomore quarterback took a step forward. And in the end, they made their way off the field with a W.
