Mesa loss an eye-opener
Barry Faulkner
There is frequently much to be discovered when a high school
football team dons its game uniforms for the first time each fall
under Friday night lights.
This was indeed the case for the Costa Mesa High Mustangs, who
dropped their 2002 debut, 35-15, to Newport-Mesa District rival
Corona del Mar Friday at Newport Harbor High.
“We discovered there are some things our kids can do and some they
can’t,” said Costa Mesa Coach Dave Perkins, who termed the contest an
eye-opener for his players, whom, he believes, may have been a little
too confident after dominating a three-way scrimmage with La Quinta
and Magnolia Sept. 13.
“I think our guys had a false sense of security and Corona del Mar
is a very good football team,” Perkins said. “I think CdM has a
chance to move up in the (CIF Southern Section Division IX) rankings
(it opened the season at No. 8) and I believe they have a shot to win
the Division IX title. We’re not where they’re at right now.”
Perkins also said the CdM coaching staff did a better job of
preparing the Sea Kings than the Mesa coaches did preparing the
Mustangs, ranked No. 7 in the CIF Division VII preseason poll.
The Mustangs were enthusiastic about playing, said Perkins, who
praised his players’ intensity and unwillingness to give up when they
trailed, 14-0, then later, 35-7.
“I thought we were very physical and I thought we hit right with
them,” Perkins said. “And another encouraging thing was that the kids
never gave up. I thought we kept battling the whole game.”
Perkins singled out the play of sophomore offensive tackle Rodrigo
Gutierrez, who started in his varsity debut, as well as first-time
varsity starter Daniel Cooper, a junior outside linebacker whose
quality contributions included forcing two fumbles, both of which the
Mustangs recovered.
Perkins was pleased with the play of his special teams and liked
what he saw at times from his offense.
Perkins said the battle at quarterback between senior Tim Iller
and junior Brian Knox will continue. Iller, who got the starting nod,
threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Waldron, while Knox came off
the bench to direct a late TD drive, completing 4 of 5 for 61 yards,
including a 9-yard scoring hookup with Nate Hunter.
“I would have liked to have come away from this game with a clear
idea as to who our guy was going to be, but that didn’t happen,
because both guys did some good things,” Perkins said.
Perkins said the absence of junior speedster Daniel Cheeseboro
(finalizing transfer eligibility), linebacker Cole Edwards (injured
ankle) and linebacker Junior Epenesa (expected to be medically
cleared from a heart problem that sidelined him last season) was also
a setback he hopes will be eliminated this week.
Additionally, Perkins said senior fullback Keola Asuega (79 yards
on 19 carries) and junior tailback Omar Ruiz (28 yards on eight
carries), should be more effective from here on out. Both did not
practice last week while nursing minor injuries.
“Our offense is based on timing and we had some timing problems,”
Perkins said.
Perkins reported no injuries in Friday’s game.
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