Two-Minute Drill: Defense leads the way for Costa Mesa
The Costa Mesa High football team earned a gutsy 14-9 win at Laguna Beach in an Orange Coast League opener Friday night. The Mustangs did it primarily with defense, as they were able to slow down Laguna senior quarterback Jack Simon for the most part.
Costa Mesa (5-1, 1-0), ranked No. 9 in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division, held the Breakers passing attack to nine of 19 for 74 yards and two interceptions, made by Elijah Collado and Luke Tsuge.
Simon, also a running threat, had 15 carries for 36 yards. He produced 31 of those yards, though, on two quarterback draws. The Mustangs also sacked him five times, and senior tackle Helper Kisino and senior linebacker Mason Mataafa were in on two quarterback sacks each.
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Costa Mesa beat Laguna Beach despite turning the ball over four times, including three lost fumbles and an interception. The Mustangs lost two of the fumbles early in the fourth quarter. After the first one, they got the ball back on the next play on the interception by Tsuge. But the second one gave Laguna Beach great field position at the Costa Mesa 20-yard line.
Five plays later, Simon scored on a two-yard keeper, giving the Breakers a 9-8 lead at the time with 8:02 left in the fourth quarter.
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Costa Mesa struggled in the passing game, completing just one of eight for five yards and an interception. But Coach Glen Fisher continued to praise the leadership of senior Cameron Curet, typically a receiver, who has started the last two games at quarterback as the Mustangs miss sophomore quarterback Ben Swanson due to an injury to his right (non-throwing) arm.
Fisher said that Curet only played a few snaps on defense Friday night. He had 12 carries for 40 yards on scrambles or designed option plays.
Fisher said that it’s too early to determine Swanson’s availability for Friday’s Battle for the Bell game against rival Estancia.
“We’re hoping,” Fisher said. “We think we could have exploited some people tonight if we had our quarterback. We had guys open, and we had great pass [protection] all night. Cameron’s doing something that he’s not normally set up to do, and he’s playing his hardest.
“But that tells you the kind of kid [he is]. He’s sacrificed personal stats. He was leading [the team] in receiving yards, kick returns, punt returns. He led our team in sacks. He was doing everything … He’s not catching the ball anymore, but that’s the kind of kid he is. He’s a phenomenal young man, and he’s going to do great things in life.”
--- Matt Szabo
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Corona del Mar
Corona del Mar High extended its Pacific Coast League winning streak to 16 by beating Woodbridge, 28-14, at University High on Friday.
The Sea Kings, the three-time defending league champions, haven’t lost in league since suffering a 42-37 setback to Beckman in the regular-season finale on Nov. 11, 2011.
Next up for CdM (4-2, 1-0 in league), ranked No. 3 in the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division poll, is a home date against Beckman (2-4, 0-1) at Jim Scott Stadium at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Patriots opened league with a 35-10 loss to University (6-0, 1-0) at Tustin High on Friday.
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The Sea Kings saw the return of six injured players.
Coach Dan O’Shea said the bye week allowed wideouts Jack Blower, Reece Perez and Billy Shaw, as well as middle linebacker Karl Donovan, offensive lineman Bryan Samudro and cornerback Cameron Kormos, to return from a variety of ailments.
Blower finished with three catches for 68 yards, while Shaw hauled in four passes for 36 yards. Perez had one reception for three yards.
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Dana Hills’ Connor McBride became the first player to rush for 100 yards against CdM this year, finishing with 169 yards and one touchdown on 35 carries.
The last time the Sea Kings allowed a 100-yard rusher was in last year’s 28-10 loss at Trabuco Hills in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division playoffs.
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Taeveon Le’s caught his fourth pass of the year for CdM, but unlike the previous three, this one didn’t result in a touchdown.
Le’s fourth reception went for 32 yards. The sophomore is averaging a remarkable 47.7 yards per catch.
— David Carrillo Peñaloza
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Estancia
Estancia High senior quarterback Connor Brown completed 11 of his first 14 pass attempts, and two more were intercepted, so only one hit the Jim Scott Stadium turf in a 23-23 Orange Coast League loss to Calvary Chapel on Friday.
Brown also completed seven of his final nine passes, the last a 14-yard touchdown to Konrad O’Daly with 35 seconds left that finalized the scoring.
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Brown and his younger brother Trevor, a junior receiver, have clearly established an on-field connection. They combined on seven pass completions for 139 yards, including a 58-yard hookup on the second play of the game.
Most of those connections came on the same post pattern that Calvary Chapel appeared to have difficulty handling.
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Calvary Chapel needed just 74 seconds to turn a 14-10 deficit into a 23-14 lead, spanning the third and fourth quarters. Calvary produced a touchdown pass with seven seconds left in the third quarter. Then, after a three-and-out and a 13-yard punt by Estancia, Calvary scored on the ensuing snap on a 43-yard pass.
— Barry Faulkner
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Sage Hill
There may not have been a lot of positives in Sage Hill’s 56-6 loss to Crean Lutheran in an Academy League opener Thursday night at Irvine High. But one of them definitely was the continued strong play of senior receiver/cornerback David Dewey.
Dewey scored Sage Hill’s only points, taking a kickoff back 93 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. He also had two receptions for 14 yards.
This was coming off a game where Dewey had 10 catches for 143 yards and a touchdown, in Sage Hill’s 49-14 loss to University.
“He’s a huge bright spot for our team,” Coach Abram Booty said. “He’s just playing his rear end off, playing great cornerback. Man, what a great kid. I wish we had 20 of him. He’s a tremendous leader on and off the field, and his effort level is very impressive. He’s our guy right now. He’s our playmaker.”
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It does not get easier for Sage Hill (1-6, 0-1 in league) after playing Crean Lutheran, which is ranked tied for ninth in the CIF Southern Section East Valley Division. The Lightning travel to play rival St. Margaret’s, which is top-ranked and defending CIF champion in the East Valley Division.
St. Margaret’s, which was 5-0 before playing a nonleague game at Justin-Siena High of Napa on Saturday night, has never lost to Sage Hill. The Lightning came the closest in 2010, when they led for most of the game before suffering a 10-6 loss to the Tartans at home.
“St. Margaret’s, obviously, is a great team,” Booty said. “We’ve just got to figure out a way to get the ball in the end zone and eliminate turnovers, and we’ve got to do a much better job tackling on defense. If we play like [we did against Crean Lutheran] against St. Margaret’s, the score may end up being the same.”
--- Matt Szabo
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Newport Harbor
Newport Harbor suffered a 51-20 setback to Fountain Valley in a Sunset League opener at Davidson Field on Thursday.
The Sailors (2-4, 0-1 in league) have lost four consecutive games, marking the first time they have lost that many in a row in 20 years. In 1995, they wound up dropping five straight to finish the year 4-6 and failing to make the CIF Southern Section Division V playoffs.
The Sailors have struggled stopping the run during the skid, as opponents have totaled 1,093 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground.
Newport Harbor travels to Huntington Beach (3-3, 1-0) next week. The Oilers kicked off league with a 32-0 shutout at home against Marina on Friday.
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Newport Harbor allowed big plays in every facet of Thursday’s game.
The Sailors saw Fountain Valley rush for scores of 75, 40 and 34 yards, and return kickoffs for 49 and 44 yards, both helped set up touchdowns.
The Barons also had a fake punt go for a 23-yard run in the third quarter, allowing them to take 34-14 lead early in the second half.
Fountain Valley came away with three turnovers and capitalized on each by producing a touchdown.
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The Sailors gave up 396 yards and five rushing touchdowns on 52 carries to Fountain Valley (4-2, 1-0 in league).
Quarterback Chad Olberding had half of the Barons’ carries and the senior totaled 253 yards and four touchdowns. He scored on runs of 75, 24, two and 40 yards.
The Sailors did slow down Olberding when he passed. He completed only three of 10 passes for 36 yards and a touchdown.
— David Carrillo Peñaloza