A STANDOUT AMONG THE STRUGGLES WR ESTES HAVING GREAT SEASON SO FAR FOR SAUGUS.Byline: Ramona Shelburne Ramona Shelburne is an American sports journalist currently writing for the Los Angeles Daily News. Shelburne was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, California where she was a class valedictorian. Staff Writer If you've you've Contraction of you have. you've you have you've have never seen Kevin Estes play in person, you probably won't be able to pick him out from a crowd of Saugus football players until he starts running his routes. That's when you can see the quickness and precision that makes Estes, who admittedly stands a tad shy of 5-foot-10 in his cleats, one of the top receivers in the area. Through the first four games this season, he leads all area receivers with 36 catches for 502 yards and seven touchdowns. ``A lot of opponents are stunned stun tr.v. stunned, stun·ning, stuns 1. To daze or render senseless, by or as if by a blow. 2. To overwhelm or daze with a loud noise. 3. when they see Kevin in person,'' Saugus quarterback Chris Ahlheim said. ``They're like, `Is that the same kid we saw on film?' But then he starts playing and running every route perfectly, and they know what he's all about.'' But for all the gaudy individual numbers he has put up in his senior year, Estes would trade any of them for a win. Heading into Friday's homecoming Homecoming Odyssey concerning Odysseus’s difficulties in getting home after war. [Gk. Myth.: Odyssey] You Can’t Go Home Again revisiting his home town, a writer is disillusioned by what he sees. [Am. Lit. game against St. Francis of La Canada, Saugus is 0-4 and in danger of entering Foothill League play next week against Burroughs of Burbank without a victory. After making the playoffs last season and finishing third in league, Saugus had high expectations for the 2002 season. As juniors a year ago, Ahlheim completed 58 percent of his passes for 1,927 yards and 11 touchdowns, and Estes had 55 catches for 1,012 yards and eight touchdowns. Saugus, though, has played one of the toughest schedules around. Among its losses this season has been to Notre Dame Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam] is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks (4-0), Highland of Palmdale (3-1), and St. Bonaventure of Ventura (3-1). ``We thought it was time to improve our schedule this year by adding St. Bonaventure and Highland, and when we get into league, I'll let you know if it was a wise choice,'' Saugus coach Ron Hilton said. ``Right now, I'm thinking I'm an idiot and I may be, but if we'd just beaten up on a few teams and hadn't had things exposed, I'm not sure where we'd be right now. We've learned a lot in these first four games that I hope will help us in our league.'' Most of the blame for Saugus' losses falls on an anemic anemic pertaining to anemia. running game, which has totaled 106 yards in four games. This allows defenses to key on Estes, often double- and triple-teaming him. ``In some ways, it makes you feel proud that they're double-teaming you,'' Estes said. ``But it's also frustrating frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: because you don't get the ball as often. I go out for a pattern and there's one guy there and another one over there and it's like, `Get away from me.' It's good if that opens things up for our other receivers.'' Unfortunately for Saugus, it hasn't. Even with all the extra attention Estes draws from defenders, he accounts for 59 percent of the Centurions' passing game and 53 percent of the offense, with 502 of their 956 offensive yards. This trend was starting to change with the emergence of Josh JOSH Joshua JOSH Job Scheduling Hierarchically Diaz in the past few games, but now Diaz is out for three to four weeks with his second concussion concussion Period of nervous-function impairment that results from relatively mild brain injury, often with no bleeding in the cerebral cortex. It causes brief unconsciousness, followed by mental confusion and physical difficulties. of the season, suffered in the 44-7 loss to St. Bonaventure on Saturday. Because of his size, which Hilton said is 5-10, 175 pounds, Estes must beat the defender off the ball or he will get hung up at the line of scrimmage line of scrimmage n. pl. lines of scrimmage Football Either of two imaginary lines extending across the field parallel to the goal line at the ends of the ball as it rests prior to being snapped and at which each team lines up for . Over the summer, Estes worked on that by adding 15 to 20 pounds of muscle to his wiry wir·y adj. 1. Resembling wire in form or quality, especially in stiffness. 2. Sinewy and lean. 3. Filiform and hard. Used of a pulse. frame and dropping his time in the 40-yard dash from the high 4.6's to low 4.5's. ``Last year, he started to run great routes but people would beat him up,'' Hilton said. ``He just did great things to his body in the offseason, and I think that's really shown in the individual success he's had this season.'' Despite the losses, Estes has received recruiting interest from Nevada-Reno, Colorado State, Oregon Oregon, city, United States Oregon, city (1990 pop. 18,334), Lucas co., NW Ohio, a suburb adjacent to Toledo, on Lake Erie; inc. 1958. It is a port with railroad-owned and -operated docks. The city has industries producing oil, chemicals, and metal products. State and Montana. ``The only think I worry about,'' Hilton said, ``is whether schools will continue to look at him if we don't win. But he's having such a good season on a losing team (that) they almost have to look at him. He may not have the size of a Whitney Lewis Whitney Lewis (born August 13, 1985, in Corpus Christi, Texas and raised in Oxnard, California) is an American football wide receiver. He is entering his senior season at the University of Northern Iowa. (the standout wide receiver from St. Bonaventure and one of the top college prospects in the country), and he's not going to break as many tackles as Whitney Lewis, but he's an athlete, and he never takes a play off. He makes catches most people can't make, and I bet somebody takes a chance on him and ends up being very pleased that they did.'' AT A GLANCE Who: Kevin Estes School: Saugus Sport: Football Position: Wide receiver Year: Senior 2002 stats: 36 catches, 502 yards, seven touchdowns 2001 stats: 55 catches, 1,012 yards, eight touchdowns CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Saugus High wide receiver Kevin Estes is putting up stellar numbers for the Centurions this season. John Lazar/Staff Photographer Box: AT A GLANCE (see text) |
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