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.