Mesa rally falls short

Bryce Alderton

The Costa Mesa High football team’s playoff chances might have all

but been eliminated Friday night, but no one can fault the Mustangs

for lack of effort.

Visiting Mesa erased a 21-point first-half deficit to tie Santa

Ana twice in the final two quarters, but it wasn’t quite enough as

the Saints edged the defending Golden West League champion, 33-27, at

the Santa Ana Bowl in the final regular-season game for both teams.

On fourth-and-six and the game tied, 27-27, late in the fourth

quarter, Santa Ana senior Ray Flores -- lining up as the punter --

scooped a snap that one-hopped to him and found the open hole down

the west sideline to run 69 yards to the Mesa 1-yard line. The run

set up Jason Olivares’ third and most crucial touchdown with one

minute, 42 seconds remaining.

On Mesa’s ensuing possession, a ball carrier gained 7 yards before

a Santa Ana defender jarred the ball loose and junior Jason Pacheco

emerged from the pile with it in hand.

Santa Ana players twice drenched Coach Jesse Gomez with Gatorade

in celebration.

“[Gomez] told me to run with it and I saw a big hole,” Flores said

of the key run. “I thank my blockers.”

Costa Mesa Coach Dave Perkins credited the opposing sideline.

“The coaches and players all deserve credit, they played a great

game,” Perkins said.

Mesa (5-5, 2-4 in league) could also lay claim to a strong game,

especially on the ground with 319 yards, 237 coming from senior Omar

Ruiz on 20 carries.

Ruiz had runs of 50 and 45 to go with a 58-yard touchdown jaunt to

cut the Santa Ana lead to 21-14 with 1:42 left in the first half.

Ruiz’s 45-yard burst set up senior Junior Epenesa’s 6-yard TD with

5:05 to go in the game, but a missed PAT cost Mesa the chance at its

first lead of the game.

Epenesa’s 1-yard TD run cut the Santa Ana lead to 21-7 with 4:35

left in the second quarter.

The Saints (5-5, 2-4) controlled time of possession, especially in

the first half with an edge of just more than 10 minutes.

Outside linebacker Gary Gonzalez stepped in front of a receiver to

intercept a Alex Gobel pass in the third quarter and returned it 67

yards to set up Luis Gonzalez’s 5-yard run to even the game at 21.

Luis Gonzalez added a 36-yard run to key a Mesa third-quarter

drive that went 56 yards before being stalled at the 10 by Kareem

Yhamel, who stopped a ball carrier for no gain on fourth down. Yhamel

scored Santa Ana’s first touchdown on a 20-yard pass from Gobel. The

Saints scored on their first three possessions.

Mesa figures to be battling La Serna (7-3) for an at-large berth

in the CIF Southern Section Division VII playoffs when pairings are

announced Sunday. La Serna has lost its last three games, while Mesa

has dropped its last two.

“These kids showed heart tonight,” Mesa’s quarterbacks coach Bill

Lux said.