Cause for moral victory

COSTA MESA — If the freshman-sophomore football game between Costa Mesa High and Estancia serves as glimpse into the future, the cross-town rivals are in for some defensive battles.

Thursday’s encounter at Estancia was fought mainly on the ground, with the Mustangs holding an advantage, but the final score ended without any points, as a 41-yard field goal from the Eagles fell feet short as time expired.

While the final score showed a tie in the Orange Coast League contest, it was Costa Mesa (3-3-2, 0-0-1 in league) that amassed more yards, 225 to 134, and more trips into the red zone, three to one, than Estancia (3-4-1, 0-0-1 in league).

And it was not lost on Costa Mesa that the Mustangs’ freshmen team, except for a sophomore kicker who was subbing in because of an injury, played against the Estancia frosh-soph team that is majority sophomore.

“It was their best game of the season,” Costa Mesa freshmen Coach Tom Simrak said. “The scoreboard doesn’t show it. We had no problem moving the ball. We outplayed them.”

A large part of the Mustangs’ ground game, which gained 212 yards on the day, was freshman Matt Wood, who carried the ball 18 times for 87 yards.

“We didn’t execute as well as we could have,” Wood said. “In our hearts, we know we beat them because we’re freshmen. I’ve been playing Pop Warner, so I’m used to playing against older kids. I had no doubt we could do it. If you do what the coaches tell you then you’ll do good.”

Three times on the day, Wood broke runs of 10 or more yards, with a long of 23.

“I think I did good,” Wood said. “I just try and do my best.”

The two offenses picked up the pace in the fourth quarter. The Mustangs started the first drive of the quarter on their own 10-yard line.

Kenneth Alvarez quickly gave them breathing room by running twice for 22 yards. Costa Mesa’s first passing attempt of the game came next and Nick Haynes hit Irwin Dorantes across the middle for a 13-yard completion. The Mustangs continued to pound the ball, moving to the Estancia 12-yard line, but a penalty and a botched snap set up fourth-and-27 and Costa Mesa turned the ball over on downs with just over a minute remaining.

Estancia moved the ball into Costa Mesa territory with two rushes for 15 yards from Jason Moreno. Alek Kirshner hit Radames Guittierez for a six-yard gain and Kirshner ran for 10 more for a third-down conversion. A Costa Mesa penalty gave Estancia the ball inside the 20, but a holding call pushed it back out with three seconds remaining, leading to the field goal that narrowly missed.

“We digged down when we had to and stopped them,” Estancia Athletic Director and assistant coach Tim Parsel said. “It wasn’t our best game, but when you have a chance to win it at the end that’s all you need.”

Parsel added that Eli Diego, David Phan, Sal Castellon and Coleman Brown played well on defense for Estancia.

Moreno led Estancia with 70 yards rushing on 13 carries and Guittierez caught two passes for 28 yards.

Haynes added 40 yards on six carries for Costa Mesa, while Josh Erno had 41 yards on five carries.