Football: Costa Mesa falls, 38-27

Richard Dunn

GARDEN GROVE - Even with a new twist on offense, Costa Mesa High’s

football team had no answer on defense for Los Amigos sophomore running

back Anthony Matagi in the first round of the CIF Southern Section

Division IX playoffs Friday night at Garden Grove High.

The host Lobos, behind the bulldozing running of Matagi, defeated

Costa Mesa, 38-27, in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicates.

Matagi rushed for 335 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries to lead

the Garden Grove League champion Lobos (9-2), including scoring runs from

75, 62 and 19 yards out.

Costa Mesa (7-4) brought a new shotgun formation to its offense,

resulting in 113 passing yards for senior quarterback A.J. Perkins, who

completed 11 of 28 throws with one touchdown and no interceptions.

“We put (the shotgun) in this week, because I thought it would give us

an advantage and we did a good job,” Costa Mesa Coach Dave Perkins said.

“But we just had trouble with the snap. We passed because we felt we

could pass and run, but we just made too many mistakes with bad snaps and

penalties near the end zone.”

After Los Amigos led at halftime, 17-6, Costa Mesa senior strong

safety Nick Cabico returned an interception 45 yards on the first play

from scrimmage in the second half, cutting the Mustangs’ deficit to five.

Later in the third quarter, after a bad punt snap by the Lobos gave

the Mustangs great field position at the Los Amigos 11-yard line, Costa

Mesa cashed in on a 32-yard field goal by Bryce Sheridan as the visitors

pulled to within 17-15 with 2:31 to play in the period.

But that was the end of the suspense for the Mustangs’ comeback as Los

Amigos scored three straight touchdowns, the last coming with 5:55

remaining in the game, for a 38-15 edge.

Following the Lobos’ final score, Costa Mesa drove 78 yards while

consuming 4:15 on the clock to score again. Junior fullback Keola

Asuega, who led the Mustangs with 107 yards on 12 carries, scored on a

4-yard touchdown run with 1:40 to play in the contest, then Andrew

Strickland recovered an onside kick for Costa Mesa to set up the

Mustangs’ final score -- a 5-yard touchdown run by Cabico with 36 seconds

left.

Cabico finished with 93 rushing yards on 14 carries, while catching

four of A.J. Perkins’ passes for 34 yards.

The Mustangs, however, botched the snap out of the shotgun six times

and lost two fumbles.

Asuega (three catches for 35 yards) and John Garcia (three for 37

yards) also wound up on the receiving end of the new Mesa offense.

Los Amigos opened with an impressive drive in the first quarter that

lasted almost six minutes, capped by Matagi’s 19-yard touchdown run.

The Lobos were on the move again in the second quarter. They drove to

the Mesa 5-yard line, but were pushed back by penalties and settled for a

27-yard field goal by Jose Pineda for a 10-0 lead. Pineda also kicked

five extra points, while the Mustangs failed to convert any points after

their four touchdowns.

In a second-quarter series, Mesa converted three third downs and

Perkins completed passes out of the shotgun to Asuega, Garcia and Cabico,

then, after a personal foul on Los Amigos, the Mustangs scored on a

7-yard pass from Perkins to Freddy Rodriguez on a fade to the far corner

of the end zone. The PAT attempt was blocked by Los Amigos’ Wes

Holloway-Taylor.

Matagi hurt the Mustangs again with a 75-yard touchdown with 0:12 left

in the first half, and Pineda’s PAT gave the hosts their 17-6

intermission edge.