Curet lifts Mesa
This post has been corrected, as noted below
GARDEN GROVE — Already missing one Swanson, the Costa Mesa High football team lost the other one Friday night in the third quarter of the Mustangs’ nonleague game against Los Amigos.
Sophomore quarterback Ben Swanson went down in the third quarter, joining his senior brother Sammy, who suffered a concussion in last week’s loss to Katella, on the sidelines.
Costa Mesa Coach Glen Fisher said the younger Swanson, who wore a sling on his right (non-throwing) arm after coming out, is expected to be all right after suffering a stinger.
The Mustangs turned to their second option at quarterback, senior Cameron Curet.
As anyone following the program already knows, good things happen when Curet has the ball in his hands.
He scored four total touchdowns, three of them on the ground, as the Mustangs won the game, 40-14, at Bolsa Grande High.
Costa Mesa is 3-1 for the first time since 2011, and defeated the Lobos for the first time in three seasons. And Curet played a big part in it, even after coming in at quarterback. He had a 35-yard touchdown run on an option play, and he capped the scoring with a two-yard run late in the fourth quarter.
“If you look at our season up to this point, Cameron has been outstanding on offense,” Fisher said. “He catches the ball, he runs the ball, he plays some quarterback. He punts, kicks, he plays defense, he’s second on the team in sacks. We’re very excited that we have him … and he could play any position on defense.”
The Mustangs were ahead of Los Amigos (0-3) just 8-6 in the second quarter before Ben Swanson caught fire. He had three straight completions – a screen pass to Josh Snipes for 22 yards and two catches by Curet – to pad the lead.
Curet’s eight-yard touchdown reception, near the left sideline in the end zone, gave the Mustangs a 14-6 lead. Curet then set up Mesa yet again after a Los Amigos three-and-out, returning the punt 42 yards to the Lobos eight-yard line.
Senior running back Jonathan Brucales, running left, went untouched into the end zone on the next play to give the Mustangs a 20-6 lead.
They added to it just before halftime on another impressive drive, capped when Ben Swanson found Snipes on a 24-yard fade route with 16 seconds left in the half.
Los Amigos lost its own starting quarterback, Jorge Najera, late in the first half. Mesa’s Tim French appeared to knock the wind out of Najera while tackling him on a keeper up the middle. The Lobos didn’t really want to pass much anyway, preferring to run it with Najera, Jose Olvera, Johnny Alvarado and Steven Hernandez. All had more than 40 yards rushing.
Isaiah Potts came in at quarterback in the second half, but Los Amigos was unable to seriously challenge, losing three fumbles. The Mustangs would take it, on their way to their best start in 14 years.
“We’ve got a group of coaches that work really hard and a group of kids that work really hard,” Fisher said. “I’m very proud of them. It’s always the hardest thing to do, convince kids that they can win, and in some ways I think we’re turning that corner. They’re starting to believe in each other.”
Curet found pay dirt one more time late in the game, and he enjoyed it. Junior safety Christian Villaverde provided the opportunity, returning an interception to the Los Amigos two-yard line.
“It was fun, I loved it,” Curet said. “I haven’t run the football since last season pretty much, and it was great … The team’s pushing together pretty well. We did well this week. Our athleticism is pretty great. We’re just together as a whole team. We’ve been motivated.
“We’re down to the guys that want to play football, the guys that want to win, and it’s just a great atmosphere.”
—
Costa Mesa 40, Los Amigos 14
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Costa Mesa 8 – 19 – 6 – 7 — 40
Los Amigos 0 – 6 – 0 – 8 — 14
FIRST QUARTER
CM – Curet 5 run (Curet run), 6:42.
SECOND QUARTER
LA – Najera 1 run (run failed), 9:48.
CM – Curet 8 pass from B. Swanson (pass failed), 8:51.
CM – Brucales 8 run (pass failed), 7:10.
CM – Snipes 24 pass from B. Swanson (Curet kick), 0:16.
THIRD QUARTER
CM – Curet 35 run (kick blocked), 1:59.
FOURTH QUARTER
LA – Alvarado 25 run (Alvarado run), 3:01.
CM – Curet 2 run (Curet kick), 1:27.
INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
CM – Brucales, 10-48, 1 TD; Curet, 9-34, 3 TDs.
LA – Alvarado, 12-97, 1 TD.
INDIVIDUAL PASSING
CM – B. Swanson, 9-16-0, 183, 2 TDs.
LA – Potts, 2-5-1, 30.
INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING
CM – Curet, 4-90, 1 TD.
LA – Hernandez, 2-30.
[Corrected 6.40 p.m. Sept. 19: An earlier version of this story said that Costa Mesa has started 3-1 for the first time since 2001. The 2011 Costa Mesa football team also started 3-1.]
