Estancia High senior Ryan Watson spent so much of himself during the
Eagles' 20-14 football win over rival Costa Mesa in the annual Battle
for the Bell Friday night, he almost had nothing left for the
celebration.
Watson, who starred on offense, defense and special teams, most
notably at quarterback for the Eagles, bailed on the bus ride back to
campus from Orange Coast College, following the hard-fought win.
It seems that after throwing for two touchdowns, running for
another, completing a two-point conversion pass, playing most of the
game in the secondary and even recovering a Costa Mesa onside kick,
what Watson needed most was a cold shower.
"I had a mini heat stroke," said Watson, who delayed his arrival
to the team's postgame feast at the Newport Rib Company, until he
could cool off and simmer down. "After I rang the Bell [the perpetual
trophy awarded to the annual winner in the crosstown rivalry], I got
really dizzy. I started drinking a bunch of water and I didn't go
home on the bus. I went right home and took a cold shower."
Watson did get to the postgame meal, but he said he was too
nauseous to fully savor the spread.
"I only had about four ribs, because I was worried about keeping
them down," he said. "It did taste good, but the thing I remember
most about the meal was that everyone was smiling."
Watson helped plaster grins on Estancia players, coaches and fans
with a sterling individual effort against the Mustangs.
He completed touchdown passes of 23 and 59 yards, to Matt Redding
and Ezequiel Villalvazo, respectively.
His team-high 64 rushing yards on 21 carries also included a
1-yard scoring sneak.
Defensively, he broke up a pass in the end zone, launched a Mesa
receiver out of bounds after a completion, and added strong run
support after coming on early at free safety when Redding was
sidelined by a knee injury.
"I was so sore all weekend, I could barely walk," he said. "But,
man, it was worth it. I have bragging rights for he rest of my life.
We beat Costa Mesa my two varsity seasons, but I played receiver last
year. It was always my dream to be the quarterback and lead my team
to victory."
Estancia Coach Brian Barnes said following Watson has become the
norm for the Eagles.
"He has been our leader all year," Barnes said. "At the end of
spring practice, he was not the starting quarterback. But he told me
he would do anything it took to win the job. He worked his tail off
over the summer, won the job and has done an amazing job for us. I
