Prep football: Mustangs cover blown
Barry Faulkner
COSTA MESA - Costa Mesa High cornerbacks would likely vote
themselves off the island that the Mustangs’ eight-in-the-box defense
placed them on Saturday afternoon at Westminster High.
Democracy, however, is not involved when the Mesa coaching staff
constructs its game plan.
The strategy against Westminster was to stuff the run and force Lions’
quarterback Fidel Gonzalez, who struggled as a passer in a 35-14
season-opening loss to Pacifica, to beat them with his arm.
Unfortunately for the Mustangs, both came to pass. While Westminster
produced minus-29 yards on the ground, Gonzalez amassed 287 passing
yards, including touchdown tosses of 81, 67 and 7 yards to key a 22-16
nonleague triumph over the surprised visitors.
“We didn’t expect (Gonzalez) to throw the ball that well,” Mesa Coach
Dave Perkins said. “We had some young kids playing corner and they got
beat a little bit.”
Even some not-so-young defensive backs were caught out of position at
times, as the unforgiving man-to-man press coverage scheme was exposed.
Perkins was extremely pleased with how the Mustangs smothered the
Lions’ ground game, but unless technique improves on the perimeter, he
and Defensive Coordinator Bob Brockie may not be afforded the luxury of
committing so many defenders to plug running holes in the future.
“We worked hard with defensive backs on the technique they need to use
out there,” Perkins said. “But they didn’t do what we asked them to
Saturday.”
The 287 aerial yards was the most surrendered by a Mesa team in 94
games, dating back to 298 yards produced by Trabuco Hills in a Week 8
Pacific Coast League win in 1992.
Offensively, similarly sporadic breakdowns, this time in blocking
schemes, helped limit a generally productive outing.
“We’re struggling with certain portions of our blocking,” Perkins
said. “And we need to shore up our play-action passing game. Our deal is
to get the ball to the tight end, but he hasn’t touched it yet. We need
to work real hard on that this week.”
This week will feature a somewhat unknown quantity in Centennial High
from Canada. The Centaurs, based in a Vancouver suburb, have confirmed
travel plans to arrive Wednesday evening for Friday’s 7 p.m. game at
Newport Harbor High.
The Mustangs will be without leading receiver Nathan Hunter, who
fractured his ankle against Westminster.
Hunter, a junior who has seven catches for 79 yards this fall, will be
out an unspecified amount of time.
“Sometimes a fracture can be better than a sprain,” Perkins said.
“We’ll have to wait and see. It could be two weeks, four, six, or eight.”
Meanwhile, junior Tyler Waldron (two catches for 15 yards Saturday)
will be asked to fill the void at receiver.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.