Mustangs fall in last 0:33
Richard Dunn
Everybody in the stadium was nervous. You could feel it in the
chilly air Friday night as visiting Gabrielino High prepared to kick
a game-winning field goal in the waning seconds.
Then, after back-to-back timeouts by Costa Mesa football coach
Dave Perkins to ice the kicker, Gabrielino’s 6-foot, 230-pound
left-footer, Miguel Ortiz, booted a 20-yard field goal with 0:33 left
as the Eagles rallied to stun the Mustangs, 15-14, in the first round
of the CIF Southern Section Division VII Playoffs at Orange Coast
College.
The San Gabriel-based Eagles (6-4-1), the Mission Valley League’s
third-place team, benefited from a defensive pass interference call
on the Mustangs during their winning drive, while the hosts shot
themselves in the foot with three lost fumbles, including one late in
the first half at the Gabrielino 1-yard line.
“They beat us, but we obviously helped them,” Perkins said of the
Eagles. “We had a lot of opportunities, and we also didn’t get some
calls. That defensive pass interference call, everybody said it was a
clean play and we’ll find out on the film. But the bottom line is, we
should have been up 24-6 at halftime. We just missed way too many
opportunities to win the football game. We just didn’t get it done.”
Costa Mesa (8-3), the Golden West League champion, has lost its
last four first-round playoff games. The Eagles also snapped the
Mustangs’ seven-game winning streak.
In the fourth quarter after Ortiz punted into the end zone, Costa
Mesa took possession at the 20 with 5:25 to play, but couldn’t run
out the clock. An illegal block on the Mustangs on second down pushed
them back to their own 12, and after two short running plays, Nate
Hunter punted for only the second time in the game. The punt snap was
wild, but Hunter recovered and managed to get the kick off before
getting pummeled. Gabrielino called for a fair catch at its own 47
with 3:03 on the clock.
On the Eagles’ first play, quarterback Paul Zuniga connected with
running back Gilbert Leal on a 25-yard pass play to the Mesa 28. But
on second down, the Eagles botched a lateral pass and lost 8 yards,
making it third-and-17 from the Mesa 35 -- out of Ortiz’s field-goal
range.
After an incomplete pass, the Eagles faced fourth-and-17. On
fourth down with Zuniga in the shotgun, a high snap went over his
head, but Zuniga recovered and heaved a Hail Mary toward the end
zone, which was batted away by Mesa free safety Tyler Waldron in
heavy traffic.
But the Mustangs were flagged for pass interference and the Eagles
had new life with a first down at the 20-yard line. Adrian Magallon,
a senior running back, found a hole and carried it to the Mesa 1 with
less than a minute to play. A penalty pushed the Eagles back to the
6, then Leal rushed to the 2-yard line, before Zuniga spiked the ball
with 0:36 remaining, setting up third down.
“I was pretty nervous. They tried to ice me twice,” Ortiz said.
“It was a simple, routine kick. I had to make it. That (moment) was
pretty intense. The team with the most heart always comes out the
winner and we played with the biggest heart.”
Gabrielino scored the first touchdown after recovering a Mesa
fumble 1:21 into the game at the Mustangs’ 18. On the ensuing play,
Jeremy Cardenas was wide open in the end zone for an 18-yard
touchdown pass from Zuniga.
The Mustangs, however, came back quickly as senior fullback Keola
Asuega scored on a 72-yard touchdown run on the first play of the new
series. Hunter’s PAT gave the hosts a 7-6 edge.
Costa Mesa missed a 32-yard field goal with 0:02 left in the first
quarter.
Early in the second, Waldron capped a five-play drive that started
at the Gabrielino 46, scoring on a 41-yard touchdown run down the
left sideline with 8:21 remaining.
With a 14-6 lead, Mesa appeared to be in a position to score
again, as they started a drive with 6:02 to play in the first half
with excellent field position at the Eagles’ 45. But, with 1:23 left
and marching inside the visitors’ 10-yard line, the Mustangs fumbled
as the ball squirted high in the air at the 1. Leal recovered for the
Eagles and the Mesa crowd went from loud to quiet.
Zuniga warmed up his passing arm in the third quarter as he
directed an 11-play, 62-yard drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown
pass to Magallon on third-and-goal with 1:04 on the clock.
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