Four Mesa football standouts All-CIF
Barry Faulkner
Senior running back Keola Asuega, the Newport-Mesa District Most
Valuable Player after leading Costa Mesa High to the Golden West
League championship, is among four Mustangs chosen All-CIF Southern
Section Division VII.
Asuega, a 6-foot, 210-pounder, is joined on the Division VII
offense by senior guard Andrew Carich. Mesa’s defensive honorees are
senior noseguard Borotha Pov and junior middle linebacker Junior
Epenesa.
Four All-CIF selections, chosen by a panel of section coaches and
announced Monday by the Southern Section office, is believed to be a
single-season high at Costa Mesa, where Coach Dave Perkins’ squad
went 8-3, losing in the first round of the CIF Playoffs.
The Mustangs had only two representatives named All-CIF after
reaching the Division VIII title game in 1993.
Asuega, who verbally committed to Idaho State Monday, completed a
sterling three-year varsity career by rushing for 2,023 yards on 253
carries last fall, despite missing one game with a hamstring injury.
Alternating between tailback and fullback, Asuega scored 21
touchdowns, upping his career touchdown total to 49, a Newport-Mesa
record.
Asuega rushed for at least 100 yards in his final nine games last
fall. Included in that run were five games of at least 200 yards,
topped by a career-high 284-yard performance in the league
title-clinching victory over Santa Ana. His 3,932 yards on 556 career
carries rank second on the all-time Newport-Mesa list, behind former
Mustang Binh Tran, who collected 4,333 yards from 1991-93. His 49
career TDs are four more than the total posted by former Newport
Harbor standout Steve Brazas from 1982-83.
Asuega had 19 career games with at least 100 yards, also a
Newport-Mesa record, and he scored at least one touchdown in 24 of
the 28 varsity games in which he carried the ball. He also had 13
multiple-TD games.
Also the Golden West League MVP as a senior, Asuega was first-team
All-Newport-Mesa and first-team All-Pacific Coast League as a junior.
The 6-0, 260-pound Carich played primarily at guard, but also saw
time at tackle as a senior. Though he missed time with a knee injury,
his leadership up front helped the Mustangs produce more than 86% of
their 3,582 offensive yards on the ground.
Carich, a two-time All-Newport-Mesa performer who was first-team
All-Golden West League as a senior and first-team All-Pacific Coast
League as a junior, was a powerful blocker who was also athletic
enough to operate on the run as a pulling guard. He saw spot duty on
the defensive line, particularly in short-yardage situations.
Pov, a 5-11, 305-pound anchor, was the Golden West League
Defensive Player of the Year and an All-Newport-Mesa selection. He
made 16 of his 47 tackles behind the line, including eight
quarterback sacks. He was also credited with 11 quarterback hurries
and proved virtually unblockable by a single opponent, prompting foes
to double- and triple-team him. This freed things up for his
defensive mates in the double-flex scheme.
The 6-2, 215-pound Epenesa led the team in tackles with 84,
including 11 sacks. After missing much of his sophomore season due to
injury, his quickness, strength and aggressiveness often led to
crowd-pleasing hits. With Epenesa and Pov controlling the middle, the
Mesa defense surrendered only 51 points during a seven-game winning
streak that concluded the regular season. Included in that stretch
were shutouts of Golden West League foes Estancia and Saddleback.
Senior Daniel Al Gattas of Walnut is the Offensive Player of the
Year in Division VII, while senior Chande Dunleavy of South Hills is
Defensive Player of the Year. Steve Bogan, who led South Hills to the
title, is Coach of the Year.
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