Costa Mesa football gets ‘special’ playoff win at home
Costa Mesa football coach Gary Gonzalez had voiced his hope for a home playoff game following his team clinching a postseason berth with a win in the season finale.
Gonzalez and the Mustangs got their wish, and it was everything they could have hoped for.
Andrew Waiss had five total touchdowns to lead Costa Mesa to a 42-13 win over Winchester Temecula Prep to open the CIF Southern Section Division 14 playoffs.
It marked the first playoff win for Costa Mesa since 1999, Gonzalez said.
“These victories mean so much to us, our program, our school community,” Gonzalez added. “This is a special one tonight. We got to host a home game; first time on this campus ever. We used to host games either at Jim Scott [Stadium] or OCC or Davidson [Field]. This is special”
Costa Mesa (8-3) will remain at home to face San Gabriel (5-6) in the quarterfinals next Friday. San Gabriel defeated Bermuda Dunes Desert Christian Academy 47-7 in the first round.
The Mustangs took advantage of short fields, fueled by defensive takeaways, to jump out to a 35-0 lead in the first half.
Gavin Garza’s 12-yard rushing touchdown opened the scoring; the Mustangs beginning their initial foray on offense at the Patriots’ 35-yard line.
In short order, Costa Mesa would get the ball back near midfield. Israel Lopez forced a fumble, which was recovered by Logan Glabb. Two plays later, Glabb — a wide receiver — was the lead blocker for Waiss on a 49-yard, zigzagging touchdown run that wound up inside the right front pylon.
“Once I went left and then I cut back right, he saw that corner just sitting there, so he waited for him to try to follow me,” Waiss said of the downfield block.
The Mustangs got the ball back on a fourth-down interception by Brandon Haro, who would later jar the ball loose from a receiver, the ball ending up in the arms of Ryan Lowry. Costa Mesa began the game with a string of five consecutive touchdown drives, the last capped by a 42-yard catch-and-run by Brody Leonard.
“I wanted to send a message to our division,” Gonzalez said. “We’re ready to go. We’re ready.”
Waiss connected twice with Govern Nguyen on deep balls up the right sideline for touchdowns, adding another scoring toss to Rex Tompkins.
Nguyen, who recovered a fumble on a kick return, was targeted on the first play after the turnover, making an over-the-shoulder catch at the back right pylon for his first score.
“I was sprinting my you-know-what off,” said Nguyen, who later added a 37-yard receiving touchdown on a similar vertical route. “Using that track speed wisely.”
Louis Arreola had 2½ sacks for Costa Mesa. Yosgart Munoz added a sack, and Lopez had half a sack.
“I’m just happy because it’s been a long time for this school, and we’re finally hitting some steppingstones to get to where we need to be,” Lopez said of ending the playoff win drought. “We’re getting the morale here to a higher standard. The students, players, every[one], we want to boost up the Mustangs, make a name for ourselves.”
Daniel Ornelas had 120 rushing yards to lead Temecula Prep (7-4), most of the production coming on an 80-yard scoring sprint late in the third quarter.
It was an energized Costa Mesa locker room after the game.
“The coaches were just saying how we haven’t won in 25 years,” Arreola said. “We finally won. The program’s kind of changed around. We’ve been kind of in the dumps the last couple years, and now, we’re showing up.”
CIF Southern Section Division 14 playoffs
Costa Mesa 42, Temecula Prep 13
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Temecula Prep 0 - 7 - 6 - 0 — 13
Costa Mesa 14 - 21 - 7 - 0 — 42
FIRST QUARTER
CM — Garza 12 run (Puga kick), 6:11.
CM — Waiss 49 run (Puga kick), 2:10.
SECOND QUARTER
CM — Tompkins 15 pass from Waiss (Puga kick), 6:02.
CM — Nguyen 20 pass from Waiss (Puga kick), 5:47.
CM — Leonard 42 pass from Waiss (Puga kick), 2:09.
TP — Antoine 12 pass from Yhlen (kick), 0:18.
THIRD QUARTER
CM — Nguyen 37 pass from Waiss (Puga kick), 1:34.
TP — Ornelas 80 run (kick failed), 1:00.
FOURTH QUARTER
None.
INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
TP — Ornelas, 16-120, 1 TD.
CM — Garza, 18-118, 1 TD; Waiss, 7-80, 1 TD.
INDIVIDUAL PASSING
TP — Yhlen, 9-17-1, 110, 1 TD.
CM — Waiss, 13-15-0, 200, 4 TDs.
INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING
TP — Antoine, 6-90, 1 TD.
CM — Nguyen, 2-57, 2 TDs; Glabb, 5-53.
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