Mustangs open on a roll

Barry Faulkner

Representing the only Orange County league in CIF Southern Section

Division VII, the Costa Mesa High football staff scattered across the

expanses of Southern California in recent weeks to collect scouting

information on prospective playoff opponents.

But the Golden West League champion Mustangs (8-2) won’t have to

venture far -- just across the street to Orange Coast College -- to

open the 2002 playoffs Friday at 7 p.m. against visiting Gabrielino

(5-4-1).

Coach Dave Perkins’ streaking squad, the first Mesa contingent in

the program’s 43 varsity seasons to win all of its league games and

only the second team to win an outright league title, will put its

seven-game winning streak, including six Golden West League triumphs,

on the line against the Eagles, who finished third in the Mission

Valley League.

The Mustangs will also be looking to end a recent spell of

first-round futility that has included three straight losses in

postseason openers and just two first-round triumphs in nine tries

since 1979.

However, Perkins, who guided Corona to a Southern Section Division

V championship in 1989, believes his team is capable of much more.

“Our kids are really excited about the playoffs,” said Perkins,

whose Mustangs polished off a perfect league campaign Thursday with a

35-0 trouncing of Saddleback. “They’ve really been looking forward to

this and they are playing with a lot of confidence. They think they

can play with anyone in the division and, having seen most of the

teams in the playoffs, our coaches think they can, too.”

Perkins said good fortune must smile on any team that advances

deep into the playoffs. But he believes his team made a lot of good

things happen during the regular season and also answered some

adversity en route to becoming only the fourth Mesa unit to win eight

games in one season.

“When things have not gone too well, our kids have responded,”

Perkins said, citing a fourth-quarter comeback to claim a 27-24

nonleague win at Chaminade in Week 2 and overcoming a 14-0

first-quarter deficit to claim a 27-21 victory over Golden West

runner-up Orange in Week 6.

“I think when we came back to win that Orange game, the kids

really started to believe in themselves.”

Gabrielino, whom the Mustangs trounced in nonleague meetings, 42-6

and 38-0 in 1996-97, won’t have the luxury of such self-assurance.

Coach Vince Lopez’s Eagles lost two of their last three

regular-season games, including the league finale to Arroyo, 14-12.

Should the Mustangs be successful Friday, they would likely meet

top-seeded Santa Fe (8-2), the champion of the Del Rio League, which

opens against West Covina (5-5). Santa Fe would host Mesa should both

survive their first-round dates.

San Antonio League champion Walnut (9-1), is the No. 2 seed, while

Mission Valley champion Arroyo (7-3) is the No. 3 seed and South

Hills (7-3), the runner up in the San Antonio League, is the No. 4

seed.

Perkins said his nine-man staff split up to scout prospective

postseason opponents the last couple weeks. Mesa coaches were present

at Gabrielino’s 34-6 win Nov. 9 over El Monte.

“We put our heads together and tried to cover as many games as we

could the last couple weeks,” Perkins said.

The Mustangs, who have won more than one playoff game only once,

when the 1993 squad coached by Myron Miller advanced to the CIF

Division VIII title game, will be paced by senior running back Keola

Asuega. Asuega amassed 1,873 yards and 19 touchdowns on 232

regular-season rushing attempts, despite missing a Week 5 nonleague

win over Santiago. He has produced 3,782 yards and a Newport-Mesa

record 47 rushing touchdowns on 525 carries and needs 552 yards to

surpass former Mustangs standout Binh Tran (4,333 yards from 1991-93)

to become the school and Newport-Mesa career rushing leader.