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Mustangs fall in last 0:33

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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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