Mesa 2-0, not content

GARDEN GROVE — The Costa Mesa High football team has won its first two games for the first time since 2000, but the Mustangs did not walk away from Friday night’s 25-14 nonleague win over Santiago at Garden Grove High with grins on their faces.

After scoring no points in the second half and hanging on for the victory, Costa Mesa’s players and coaches alike seemed to realize that improvement needed to be made.

“It’s good, but we can always get better,” said senior running back Jonathan Brucales, who had 17 carries for 109 yards and two touchdowns. “I wouldn’t say it was a great game. It’s nice that we got our win, making history, but we have a lot to learn.”

Santiago (0-2) seemed to want to give Costa Mesa (2-0) the game. The Cavaliers committed eight turnovers, including five lost fumbles and three interceptions, two of those by Josh Snipes and one by Elijah Collado. Costa Mesa committed three turnovers, including two fumbles and an interception, for a total of 11 turnovers in the contest.

For Costa Mesa, coming off a 15-10 upset victory over Northwood in Week Zero, it was a struggle on offense in the second half.

“We work on creating turnovers, and that’s what we do, we go get the football,” said Mesa Coach Glen Fisher, also the team’s defensive coordinator. “We want to get the football back, and when we tackle, that’s part of how we teach it. I’m very pleased about that. I’m not pleased about the mental mistakes … we’ve got a lot of work to do. I’m happy that we won, but we’ve got to get a lot better.

“I think maybe as a program, we got a little complacent, and that comes down to me. They received a lot of accolades this week for winning in our first game and beating a PCL team for the first time in a long time. I didn’t do a very good job of managing that, and that comes down to me. But I’ll fix that.”

A high punt snap in the fourth quarter was problematic for Costa Mesa. Punter Cameron Curet alertly decided to kick the ball out of the end zone for a safety, and the two points pulled Santiago within 25-14 with 3:47 to play.

The ensuing kickoff from the 20-yard line went out of bounds, giving Santiago great field position at the Mesa 45-yard line.

On third-and-one from the Mesa 36, the underthrown pass downfield was intercepted by Snipes. His fourth interception of the season effectively iced the game with 2:38 left. Mesa was able to run out the clock.

But there was no wild celebration after the final whistle, like last week.

“I think we could have made more out of what we have,” Brucales said. “As a team, I don’t think we used our opportunities well … It’s a win, but to us it’s not really a win if we’re not playing well. We can get better.”

The Mustangs had a 25-12 halftime lead, despite three trips to the red zone in the first half that netted a combined three points.

After failing to convert their first red zone chance early in the game, though, they immediately got another one. A Santiago fumble gave Costa Mesa the ball back at the Santiago two-yard line.

Brucales punched it in, then quarterback Ben Swanson ran in the conversion for the 8-0 lead. It became 11-0 when Curet hit a 27-yard field goal later in the half.

Santiago turned to its dynamic player, junior Dominick Smith-Dotson, who had to leave last week’s loss to Sunny Hills early with an ankle injury. Smith-Dotson touched the ball just three times in the first half, but two of those went for touchdowns.

He took a reverse 80 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. And, after Brucales had a 65-yard touchdown run on the next play from scrimmage, Smith-Dotson struck again. He caught a jump ball at the goal line from Santiago quarterback Angel Tajimaroa, the 27-yard touchdown pass pulling the Cavaliers within 17-12 with 1:11 left in the first half.

But an onside kick recovered by Mesa, coupled with a Santiago personal foul on the kickoff, gave the Mustangs excellent starting field position at the Santiago 43-yard line. Three plays later, Swanson hit Curet on a 30-yard touchdown pass, and the conversion pass to Tim French gave the Mustangs the 25-12 halftime lead.

Swanson stood out in the first half, when he was 12 of 17 for 219 yards and the touchdown. He finished with 244 yards passing.

Costa Mesa will look to keep the winning going next week, when it plays host to Katella on Thursday at Jim Scott Stadium. It’s the Mustangs’ lone home game prior to the start of Orange Coast League play.

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Costa Mesa 25, Santiago 14

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Costa Mesa 11 – 14 – 0 – 0 — 25

Santiago 0 – 12 – 0 – 2 — 14

FIRST QUARTER

CM – Brucales 2 run (B. Swanson run), 9:27.

CM – Curet 27 FG, 3:30.

SECOND QUARTER

S – Smith-Dotson 80 run (pass failed), 3:27.

CM – Brucales 65 run (pass failed), 3:13.

S – Smith-Dotson 27 pass from Tajimaroa (pass failed), 1:11.

CM – Curet 30 pass from B. Swanson (French pass from B. Swanson), 0:42.

FOURTH QUARTER

S – Safety (punter kicked ball out of end zone), 3:27.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

CM – Brucales, 17-109, 2 TDs.

S – Smith-Dotson, 1-80, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

CM – B. Swanson, 16-27-1, 244, 1 TD.

S – Tajimaroa, 7-16-2, 103, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

CM – Curet, 6-112, 1 TD.

S – Smith-Dotson, 3-70, 1 TD.