Costa Mesa football delivers in must-win game versus Bolsa Grande
Following back-to-back losses in its introduction to the Tango League, the Costa Mesa football team made the game-changing plays needed to match the urgency of its situation.
Govern Nguyen was a focal point of several of them, scoring his first career touchdown and bringing in two interceptions to help the Mustangs earn a key win.
Costa Mesa scored in each quarter in a solid showing to beat Bolsa Grande 35-20 on Thursday, providing a boon to the Mustangs’ playoff prospects.
The remaining schedule has the Mustangs hosting Westminster La Quinta (6-1, 1-1 in the Tango League entering Week 8 action) on Friday, Oct. 25, before traveling to take on Loara (0-7, 0-2) on the evening of Halloween. Win both and Costa Mesa (5-3, 1-2) could certainly be looking at a playoff treat at season’s end.
“We talk about controlling our destiny all the time,” Costa Mesa coach Gary Gonzalez said. “A season’s full of peaks and valleys, and right now we’re on the upswing. It was really good to get that [win] in that league. We feel good and confident that we will have a good game plan for La Quinta, although they’re very tough, and then we feel like if we stay healthy, we have a shot to get into CIF.”
Both teams turned the ball over on their initial offensive possessions — Bolsa Grande’s Dylan Nguyen and Costa Mesa’s Govern Nguyen each recording an interception.
It was only two plays after the latter forced a turnover for the Mustangs that he took off down the field, reeling in a deep pass from Andrew Waiss for a 69-yard touchdown.
“I do track, and the one rule is never look behind you,” said Govern Nguyen, who added he had only been receiving offensive snaps for a couple of weeks. “Just keep running. Once I got into the touchdown zone, I was filled with so much excitement, I didn’t even know what to do. I just stood there with a smile on my face.”
Costa Mesa never trailed after that, forcing a three-and-out on defense that led to another passing touchdown, this time an 11-yard connection from Waiss to Rex Tompkins.
The Mustangs took a 21-7 lead into halftime, and they were facing a new quarterback after Bolsa Grande starter Tank Britton was knocked out of the game on a sack by Israel Lopez.
Darwin Palma, who had been making tackles all over the field from his linebacker position, recovered a fumbled snap on the Bolsa Grande 15-yard line coming out of the break.
“We had to play our hearts out,” Palma said. “Our season was on the line. We just had to make do with what we got. We had a rough week of practice, but we were able to make it through.”
In short order, the Mustangs had extended the lead to 28-7, Tompkins falling on a loose ball in the end zone after Gavin Garza had advanced the ball to the 1-yard line before fumbling.
Waiss finished with four total touchdowns, a goal-line variety carry securing his second rushing score in the fourth quarter.
“We can ride the momentum and hopefully come out on top the next two weeks,” Waiss added.
Costa Mesa’s defense came up with five total turnovers. Govern Nguyen had two interceptions, with Logan Glabb and Ryan Lowry each picking off one pass.
Michael Nguyen, a sophomore southpaw, threw two touchdown passes to Jacob Ortiz in the second half for Bolsa Grande (4-4, 2-1).
Tango League
Costa Mesa 35, Bolsa Grande 20
SCORE QUARTERS
Costa Mesa 7 - 14 - 7 - 7 — 35
Bolsa Grande 0 - 7 - 7- 6 — 20
FIRST QUARTER
CM — Nguyen 69 pass from Waiss (Puga kick), 4:44.
SECOND QUARTER
CM — Tompkins 11 pass from Waiss (Puga kick), 10:10.
BG — Bell 8 run (Baya kick), 6:05.
CM — Waiss 13 run (Puga kick), 2:03.
THIRD QUARTER
CM — Tompkins fumble recovery in end zone (Puga kick), 9:31.
BG — Ortiz 22 pass from Nguyen (Baya kick), 0:19.
FOURTH QUARTER
CM — Waiss 1 run (Puga kick), 9:29.
BG — Ortiz 9 pass from Nguyen (Nguyen pass intercepted by Palma), 0:43.
INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
CM — Garza, 18-73; Waiss, 9-39, 2 TDs.
BG — Bell, 16-70, 1 TD.
INDIVIDUAL PASSING
CM — Waiss, 9-15-1, 129, 2 TDs.
BG — Nguyen, 11-19-2, 114, 2 TDs; Britton, 9-17-2, 101.
INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING
CM — Nguyen, 1-69, 1 TD; Glabb, 5-42.
BG — Zarate, 4-70; Ortiz, 4-50, 2 TDs.
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