Costa Mesa gauges Matadors, 47-0

Tony Altobelli

Costa Mesa football Coach Jerry Howell, like most coaches, never

takes any game for granted, saying “That’s when some team comes up and

bites you on the butt.”

No Mustang butts were bitten in Thursday night’s 47-0 blowout over

host Bolsa Grande in a game that was decided almost as soon as it began.

“We did a good job of playing aggressive football tonight,” Howell

said. “I feel that we should have played even better. We still need to

work on a few things out there.”

With size being a major element in the game of football, Bolsa Grande

was no match for the bigger, stronger and faster Mustangs (2-0).

With no defensive back taller than 5-foot-9 for Bolsa Grande,

quarterback Dave Weir found the various mismatches for a solid

performance.

The junior transfer from Arizona was 7 for 13 for 127 yards and three

second-quarter touchdowns, two to 6-3 Shaun Ferryman and one to 6-0 Willy

Franco.

“Dave has been really passing the ball well for us as of late,” Howell

said.

The Mustangs’ special teams, led by Ferryman’s two blocked punts, kept

Costa Mesa in Matador territory for most of the game.

The first of Ferryman’s blocks gave Mesa its first possession inside

Bolsa Grande’s 40-yard line.

Four plays later, running back C.J. Zuniga scored his first of two

touchdowns on a 29-yard dash through the Matadors’ defense.

It got worse for the Matadors (0-2), on their next punt attempt, as

Ferryman again came up the middle and sent the ball backwards.

The senior showed why he was an All-Pacific Coast League standout last

season, recovering his block and taking the ball to the 1-yard line,

before finally being stopped.

Zuniga slammed it in on the first play from scrimmage, giving the

Mustangs control of the game within the first four minutes. He finished

with 118 yards on only 12 carries.

Despite actually controlling the ball longer than the Mustangs, Bolsa

Grande did little with the time as Mesa continued to apply constant

pressure to the Matadors.

In fact, 14 of Mesa’s tackles occurred behind Bolsa Grande’s line of

scrimmage, including seven sacks.

“We have an aggressive, attacking-type of defense,” Howell said. “We

really picked it up tonight.”

Leading the defensive barrage was outside linebacker Todd Duddridge

with two bone-crushing sacks against 5-5 quarterback Alex Guadarrama.

Costa Mesa put the game out of reach in the second quarter.

Starting in Bolsa Grande territory every possession of the quarter,

the Mustangs shortened the field and took advantage with Weir’s three

touchdown passes.

With a 33-0 lead at halftime, Mesa, once again, used its size, with

260-pound fullback Antony Grubisich, who rushed for 69 yards on seven

carries, including a 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Mesa closed out the scoring on its first possession of the fourth

quarter as backup quarterback Patrick Hulliger threw a 19-yard touchdown

pass to Louis Day.

Despite the win, Howell still was not 100% pleased.

“We really need to work on the mental discipline of our team,” he

said. “We have too many players talking to the refs. We need better

discipline and we have to learn to keep our mouths shut.”

A much tougher test awaits the Mustangs on Friday night at 7 when they

travel to Westminster High to take on the Lions.

“We’re going to really have to step forward and play well against

those guys,” Howell said. “They like to run stunts and they love to throw

the ball. It will be a tough one.”