Mustangs seeking reward
Patrick Laverty
It’s often said that the biggest improvement for a football team
comes between its first and second games.
But what exactly does Costa Mesa High have to improve on?
The Mustangs dominated time of possession, showed a strong run
defense and good special teams, yet lost to Corona del Mar, 19-14, in
its season opener.
The Mustangs lost because they allowed three big pass plays, which
led to all three Sea Kings touchdowns.
This week, Costa Mesa (0-1), ranked No. 9 in CIF Southern Section
Division VII, will attempt to avoid the same fate against Division I
representative Huntington Beach (0-1), which committed more than a
few mistakes of its own in a 42-14 loss to Los Amigos last week. The
two teams meet at Huntington Beach High tonight at 7.
The Oilers had difficulty on special teams, specifically punting,
which resulted in three Los Amigos touchdowns. They also allowed Los
Amigos’ top running back to gain 111 yards on 16 carries, which
should bode well for the run-oriented Mustangs.
Huntington Beach’s 50 defense will present a new challenge for
Costa Mesa, running against an odd front compared to the even front
the Sea Kings played last week.
“We’re going to have to attack it differently, from different
angles,” Costa Mesa Coach Dave Perkins said. “It’s nothing we don’t
have in our package. It just presents a little bit of a challenge.”
Costa Mesa ran for 157 yards in the opening week, but quarterback
Bruce Wilkinson was sacked six times. losing 41 yards. The line was
playing without first-team All-Golden West League tackle Rodrigo
Gutierrez (sprained knee), who is expected to miss this week’s game
as well.
The Oilers like to grind it out, like Costa Mesa, but could have a
difficult time against a Mesa defense that held Corona del Mar to
just 2.6 yards per carry.
“I think our run defense is going to hold up,” Perkins said.
“People are going to have to beat us by throwing the ball.”
Huntington Beach quarterback Rory Schoonmaker completed 6 of 14
passes for 96 yards, with an interception in Week 1. He also ran 11
times for 29 yards. The Oilers’ leading rusher was Justin Montes, who
had 77 yards on 20 carries.
Schoonmaker will be going against a Mustang secondary that is
still adjusting to new roles. Safety Al Rodriguez, an all-league
cornerback last season, played his new position for the first time
last week and sophomore Tony Krikorian, who didn’t play football last
year, is expected to start at cornerback.
Both teams will be looking to avoid falling to 0-2 and Perkins
knows the battle will be fierce.
“We match up real well,” Perkins said. “It’s going to be a pretty
physical game. They’re a Sunset League team and those teams like to
mix it up and hit people. But we like to hit people too.”
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.