High School Football: Another Curet, another 4-1 Costa Mesa start

ANAHEIM — Whenever there has been a Curet playing football in his senior year at Costa Mesa High, the Mustangs have begun the year with a 4-1 record.

Cameron Curet is the second member of his family to lead Costa Mesa to such a hot start, and he did it all on Saturday night. Curet threw the ball, kicked the ball, tackled whoever had the ball, deflected the ball, returned the ball, ran the ball and intercepted the ball.

It all proved to make a difference in the visiting Mustangs’ 15-6 win against Savanna at Glover Stadium. The last time Costa Mesa won four of its first five games was in 2011, when Cameron’s brother, Trace, suited up for the Mustangs.

The younger Curet sure does a whole lot for the Mustangs. He scored all of Costa Mesa’s points Saturday, on a 44-yard punt return for a touchdown, on a two-point conversion run, on a four-yard touchdown run, and on an extra-point kick.

Curet usually handles a variety of duties for Costa Mesa. He starts at wide receiver, linebacker, and on special teams as the kicker, punter and returner, but Coach Glen Fisher also asked No. 3 to play quarterback against Savanna. With starting quarterback Ben Swanson out with an arm injury he suffered last week, Curet stepped in as the signal caller.

Curet didn’t complete his first pass for positive yardage until the 6:45 mark in the fourth quarter, when Costa Mesa led, 8-6. The pass play, coming on third-and-12 on the Mustangs’ 42, was a huge one, as Costa Mesa moved the chains on Curet’s 21-yard pass to Cody Merrifield. The hook up allowed Costa Mesa to chew off almost three minutes off the clock.

When Savanna (1-3) took over on downs on its 26, Costa Mesa’s defense rose up. Lineman Helper Kisino stuffed a run for no gain, and linebacker Rodrigo Carvalho combined to drop quarterback Nate Gonzalez for a three-yard loss. Two plays later, on fourth-and-13, linebacker Jonathan Brucales grabbed onto Gonzalez before lineman Ray Welsher finished Gonzalez off with a 17-yard sack.

The turnover on downs, Savanna’s fourth of the game, set Costa Mesa up on the Rebels’ 20-yard line with 2:18 to go. On first down, Brucales, playing tailback, ran for eight yards, his 21st carry put him at 72 yards, and then Curet ran two straight times. Curet’s last carry went for a four-yard touchdown with less than a minute left to play. Curet’s extra-point kick gave Costa Mesa a 15-6 lead, and the Mustangs head into the bye week hurting, but with a lot of momentum.

“It couldn’t have happened at a better time for us,” said Fisher, who also had standout senior linebacker Mason Mataafa out with a shoulder injury. “We’re ecstatic about the bye week. We’ve got some boys that need to get some ice baths under their belt.”

Curet iced the game with an interception, returning it 15 yards to the Mustangs’ 43 with 19 seconds left. His night was done after taking a knee at quarterback.

Passing-wise, Curet’s numbers weren’t big. He only completed two of eight passes for 21 yards, but he rushed 17 times for 50 yards and a touchdown. Playing quarterback isn’t easy, especially when you usually catch passes like Curet does.

“I was ready for it,” Curet said of the opportunity, “but I didn’t think it was going to be this hard.”

Curet got his first chance as the starting quarterback 3½ minutes into the game. The Mustangs took over on their 42 after a punt. They managed to move the chains twice, on a Brucales 10-yard run to the left and a Curet 12-yard run to the right.

The offense moved backward on the next two plays. Savanna stuffed Brucales for two-yard losses and Curet threw his second incomplete pass. The Mustangs punted, Curet pinning the Rebels with a 33-yard punt to Savanna’s nine with 5:57 left in the opening quarter.

The Mustangs didn’t get the ball back until the 10:36 mark in the second quarter. Savanna ran 17 plays and reached Costa Mesa’s 29, before turning the ball over on downs. The Rebels, on a fourth-and-seven call, tried to produce a touchdown, not a first down. Gonzalez threw a jump ball in the end zone, where defensive back Josh Snipes and Curet covered wideout Antonio Diez, with Curet breaking up the pass.

Almost five minutes later, Costa Mesa wound up turning the ball over inside the Rebels’ 15-yard line. Defensive back Gabe Hernandez recovered a Costa Mesa fumble, stopping the Mustangs’ 11-play drive, which included Curet converting a first down on a fourth-and-six run that gained 13 yards.

Curet got his hands on the ball for Costa Mesa three minutes later. He fielded a 22-yard punt and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown. Curet’s two-point conversion run put Costa Mesa up, 8-0, with 3:37 remaining in the first half.

“Right when the ball was [punted] our coach called a timeout, but it was too late,” Curet said. “Everyone froze [on special teams]. I didn’t see [the ball coming]. I was lucky to catch the ball. I knew it was coming to me, but I just put my arms out and I just got it, and I just hit the hole. I just saw a little opening.”

The first-half shutout wouldn’t hold up. With 48 seconds left, the Rebels started on their 45-yard line after Curet’s 28-yard punt. Once they reached the opponent’s 46, the Rebels called a timeout with 32 seconds to go.

The next play saw Gonzalez air it out, finding a wide-open Angel Roberts for a 46-yard touchdown pass. Savanna went for two, but Gonzalez’s pass fell incomplete and Costa Mesa went into halftime with an 8-6 lead.

The score stayed that way until Curet’s second touchdown with 57 seconds left in the game. He ensured another Curet led the Mustangs to a 4-1 start, before they open Orange Coast League play at Laguna Beach on Oct. 9.

“We had a lot of guys doing things that they had never done before,” Fisher said, “and somehow they found a way to band together and get it done.”

Nonleague

Costa Mesa 15, Savanna 6

Costa Mesa 0 – 8 – 0 – 7 — 15

Savanna 0 – 6 – 0 – 0 — 6

SECOND QUARTER

CM – Curet 44 punt return (Curet run), 3:37.

S – Roberts 46 pass from Gonzalez (pass failed),:22.

FOURTH QUARTER

CM – Curet 4 run (Curet kick), :57.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

CM – Brucales, 21-72.

S – Roberts, 12-69.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

CM – Curet, 2-8-0, 21.

S – Gonzalez, 6-10-1, 103, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

CM – Merrifield, 1-21.

S – Roberts, 1-46, 1 TD.