Mustangs hoping to roar past Lions
Patrick Laverty
Costa Mesa High’s football team put itself in its current predicament
when it was upset by Saddleback earlier this season. But the Mustangs
also know one way of escaping that predicament.
“Stop Brooks,” Mustangs Coach Dave Perkins said, referring to
Westminster senior running back Carlos Brooks.
If Costa Mesa can stop Brooks and fight off the Lions Friday at
Newport Harbor High, it will give itself not only a good shot at a
possible three-way tie for second place, but will almost assure
itself of an at-large berth if it does not receive the help it needs
for the second-place tie.
The Mustangs (5-3, 2-2 in league), ranked eighth in CIF Southern
Section Division VII, are tied for third place with Saddleback (3-5,
2-2). Both teams trail Westminster (7-1, 4-0), ranked No. 4, and
Orange (7-1, 4-0) by two games.
Saddleback closes the season with games against Santa Ana (4-4,
1-3) and Ocean View (2-6, 1-4), two games it should win. Costa Mesa
meets Santa Ana in the season finale. If the Mustangs can beat
Westminster this week, they will likely finish 4-2 in league, tied
with Saddleback.
But the Roadrunners hold the tiebreaker over the Mustangs because
of their head-to-head victory, so if Mesa wants an automatic playoff
berth, it must win its last two games and get some help, namely from
Orange, which meets Westminster in the finale. If Orange can win that
game, it would cause a three-way tie for second place, meaning a coin
flip would decide the second and third automatic playoff berths out
of the league.
Of course, this hypothetical situation means nothing if the
Mustangs can’t stop Brooks and beat Westminster.
Brooks has rushed for 131 yards per game and scored 14 touchdowns
this season. But he hasn’t had to face Costa Mesa’s staunch run
defense.
The Mustangs have allowed just 69 yards rushing per game this
season. Take away Orange, which ran for 241 yards against Costa Mesa,
and that average drops to 44 yards per game.
Brooks, running out of the I-formation, will look to get outside
on sweep plays.
“We’ve got to keep him contained, keep him from getting outside
the hash marks,” Perkins said.
The Mustangs have defensive ends Marc Daniels and Qualic Vargas
assigned to containment and a solid group of linebackers that
includes Jeff Waldron, Brett Via, Junior Epenesa, Luke Sapolu and
Gary Gonzalez.
Mesa also has an offense that is capable of putting up points
should the Lions be able to break big plays, which is something they
have shown themselves capable of.
Senior tailback Omar Ruiz has more yards than Brooks (1,245 to
1,051). If the Lions crowd the line of scrimmage, like they did in
last season’s 11-10 Costa Mesa victory, the Mustangs can go to the
passing game led by junior quarterback Bruce Wilkinson (52 of 99 for
749 yards).
“The last two years, our problem has been trying to get their 10
guys out of the box,” Perkins said.
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