HAZELWOOD — Sam Estrada was waiting for that one shining moment throughout the first three weeks of the football season.
The Lindbergh High senior quarterback masterfully helped the Flyers to a pair of big wins.
But Estrada had yet to find the end zone. At least with his feet.
"Not too many long runs," Estrada said.
Until Thursday night, that is.
Estrada ran for 141 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 53-yard scoring gallop in the first period, to kick-start Lindbergh to a 24-0 win over Hazelwood Central in a non-league football affair at Central.
The Flyers (3-1) dominated play from start to finish in handing Hazelwood Central (1-3) its third successive shutout loss.
Estrada, who shares the quarterbacking chores with sophomore Noah Norman, had amassed just 45 yards rushing on nine carries over the first three contests.
Lindbergh coach Nathan Norman gave Estrada a more important role this time around.
And the 6-foot, 190-pounder stepped up in the brightest of lights.
"Our running game was something we felt like we needed to work on and we saw a little bit of a weakness in our opponent," Nathan Norman said. "So, we tried to get it done."
Estrada carried the ball 12 times although three of those attempts came in the victory formation in the closing seconds.
He was able to add a nifty 42-yard scoring jaunt late in the third period to put the game away.
Both plays were similar. Estrada faked the ball to his running back and then bolted through a big hole in the middle of the line.
"Tonight it was me having the hot hand and getting it done," Estrada said. "It's always somebody. I guess it was my turn."
The Flyers' defense was up to the task all night long. It kept the hosts out of the end zone even though Central moved inside the Flyers' 25-yard-line on three occasions.
"We like to think we bend, but don't break," said sophomore linebacker Jameson Honey, who spent much of the night in the Hawks' backfield.
Lindbergh recorded its first shutout since blanking Mehlville 35-0 on Oct. 13 of last season.
Nathan Norman was worried about playing on Thursday night especially after a hard-fought 28-14 win on Sept. 13 at Ladue.
"The kids responded," he said. "Any time you come into Hazelwood Central, get a win and get a shutout, I'll take it."
Estrada got the ball rolling with his march up the middle for a score in the opening period.
Junior kicker Jackson Bailey punched the lead to 10-0 with a 32-yard field goal early in second quarter.
Sophomore Noah Norman got the second half started with a 37-yard scoring burst up the middle on the fifth play from scrimmage for a 17-0 cushion.Â
That set the stage for Estrada's second long scoring run.
Honey recorded two tackles to give him 19 on the season along with a team-best five sacks. The 6-2, 250-pounder serves as the heart and soul of an aggressive, gang tackling stop unit.
"Our plan was to play as physical as possible and not let them score," Honey said. "Our goal is to not let anybody drive on us and so far we've pretty much done that."
The Flyers are off to a quick start. Their only setback was a 21-17 loss at home to Summit in the second week of the campaign.
Hazelwood Central has gone 12 full quarters without scoring a point. Senior defensive back Amon Lee recorded a pick-6 on the last play of a 22-8 win over Miller Career during the opening weekend.
The Hawks have lost two quarterbacks due to injury, which partially explains their offensive woes.
"We're going to take our lumps now, but once we get to October and start to figure things out, we'll be all right," Central first-year coach Jason Wells said.