Thundering herd rips Saddleback

Richard Dunn

Even the second-half fog as thick as pea soup couldn’t stop Costa

Mesa High’s football team Thursday night in an unusual road game for

the Mustangs, who completed an undefeated Golden West League campaign

in their first year in the league with a 35-0 victory over Saddleback

at Newport Harbor High.

“We’re playing good football right now, and there’s only one other

team (in CIF Southern Section Division VII) that has a shot at an

unbeaten league season and that’s the No. 1-ranked team in our

division (Santa Fe). So we’re really hoping for the fourth seed (in

the playoffs),” said Costa Mesa Coach Dave Perkins, who notched his

first perfect league season in his 19-year head coaching career.

The Mustangs (8-2, 6-0 in league), ranked seventh in CIF Division

VII, were led by senior fullback Keola Asuega, who carried 30 times

for 222 yards and two touchdowns, caught two passes for 15 yards and

returned a kickoff 65 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter as

players could barely see what was in front of them.

“We’re becoming an all-weather team,” Perkins quipped. “We’ve

played in the mud, we’ve played in the rain and now we’ve played in

the fog. If we get that bad weather in the playoffs, we’ll be in

great shape.”

Costa Mesa’s defense, which recorded its second shutout of the

season, held Saddleback (3-7, 2-4) to 3 rushing yards in 20 attempts,

including a 15-yard loss on a bad punt snap that went out of the end

zone for a third-quarter safety. It gave the Mustangs a 22-0 edge.

On offense, the Mustangs earned 351 yards on the ground on 56

plays. Omar Ruiz, Mesa’s junior tailback, averaged over 10 yards a

carry on 7 rushes, Nate Hunter picked up 32 yards on 4 carries and

senior noseguard Borotha Pov was rewarded late in the game with a

carry that resulted in a 3-yard touchdown run.

“(Pov) has done such an outstanding job for us on defense,”

Perkins said. “If he isn’t up for (league) Player of the Year, he

should be.”

After a 15-minute delay to start the game because down markers

were missing, the Mustangs took the opening kickoff and kept the ball

for five minutes, driving to the Saddleback 1-yard line. But the

Roadrunners’ defense provided an impressive goal-line stand to stop

Costa Mesa.

The Mustangs, however, forced Saddleback to punt after three downs

and enjoyed great field position at the Roadrunners’ 33 after Tyler

Waldron’s 3-yard return.

Asuega’s 18-yard run to the Saddleback 2 was the drive’s key play,

and, on fourth down, Asuega cleared the goal line for the game’s

first score and his 46th touchdown of the season, breaking the

Newport-Mesa District career record he had shared with Steve Brazas

of Newport Harbor.

Early in the second quarter, Mesa’s defense was causing more

trouble for Saddleback as junior middle linebacker Junior Epenesa,

who was ejected later in the second quarter after a personal foul on

a fumble, sacked Roadrunner quarterback Guillermo Garcia for a 4-yard

loss on third down. Epenesa, like an invisible man on a blitz, raced

through the line untouched and put Garcia on his back soon after the

snap. It forced Saddleback to punt again, but this time a fortuitous

Roadrunner bounce resulted in a 49-yard punt to the Costa Mesa 37.

The Mustangs, though, didn’t take long to score again. Ruiz

carried 15 yards on the first play to the Saddleback 48, then

sprinted down the visiting sideline for 33 yards as the Mustangs set

up shop at the 15. After an incomplete pass, Ruiz scored on a 15-yard

touchdown run with 9:34 remaining in the first half, giving the

designated visitors, who often play home games at Newport Harbor, a

13-0 lead.

For the Roadrunners, who were originally scheduled to host the

game at the Santa Ana Bowl on Saturday, then Friday, it was their

first home assignment at Newport Harbor since 1985, when they hosted

Laguna Beach to conclude a regular season.

Costa Mesa, which missed a 39-yard field goal when it hit the left

upright in the second quarter and bounced back the wrong way, scored

again late in the second quarter on Asuega’s 7-yard run to paydirt,

after the Mustangs started on their own 13 with 2:51 left. Asuega had

gains of 14, 19, 19 and 23 in the series.

The second half was marred by the dense fog that rolled in just

before kickoff.