Mustangs overrun by Orange

Barry Faulkner

When the ground-up rubber had settled on the Orange Coast College

FieldTurf Friday night, host Costa Mesa High and Orange had combined

for 645 yards of total offense, 38 first downs, nine touchdowns and

no punts.

The Golden West League football game, however, included five

turnovers, four of which were served up by the Mustangs (2-7, 2-3 in

league). The miscues helped produce a 43-21 victory for Orange (8-2,

5-1), ranked No. 9 in CIF Southern Section Division VII.

All four turnovers led to Orange touchdowns.

The loss cost Mesa a chance to finish any higher than tied for

third in the league standings. But if the Mustangs can beat crosstown

rival Estancia Friday, they would finish 3-3.

Saddleback, with a loss to league-leading Westminster Thursday,

would also slip to 3-3, where Santa Ana could join a logjam, should

it defeat Ocean View Friday.

In the event of a three-way tie, a coin flip would decide the

league’s third and final guaranteed playoff representative.

In a two-way tie, Costa Mesa would win the tiebreaker with Santa

Ana and lose it to Saddleback (having beaten the Saints and lost to

the Roadrunners).

A loss to Estancia would end Costa Mesa’s season.

The turnover bug bit early Friday for Mesa, which fumbled the

opening kickoff and was intercepted on its first offensive play.

The Panthers, who have now won 14 of their last 15 league games, turned both miscues into touchdowns to take a 13-0 lead just 1:58

into the contest.

Orange, which can still earn a share of the title, should

Saddleback upset Westminster, scored on its first six possessions,

four in the first half.

But the Mustangs, dealing with the absence of Coach Tom Baldwin,

who served a one-game suspension for violating CIF practice rules

during last week’s bye week, made the Panthers sweat into the final

moments.

“[The Panthers] have the kind of offense you love to hate,”

designated Mesa head coach Eddie Steward said of Orange’s double

wing. “Their backs ran hard and we didn’t tackle very well.”

Orange freshman Matthew Contreras produced 156 rushing yards and

three touchdowns on 15 attempts, while junior Herbie Jones added 138

yards and two TDs on 20 carries.

Both backs combined for seven runs of at least 19 yards, often

breaking handfuls of tackles in the process.

Mesa, however, was hardly outclassed. The Mustangs rolled up 291

offensive yards, including 233 on the ground.

Junior tailback Tyler Legg had 105 rushing yards and one TD on 21

carries, despite not touching the ball in the first quarter.

Senior Jorge Quiroz added 83 rushing yards on 11 carries for the

hosts.

“It was a very physical game, but we’ve been physical all year,”

Steward said.

Orange Coach Greg Gibson, a former defensive lineman at Orange

Coast, was not surprised by the smashmouth nature of the game.

“Both teams came to play and I knew [the Mustangs] would, because

of what was at stake,” Gibson said. “This game was for second place.

We had a little extra motivation by still having a chance to share

the league title.”

Gibson, in his fourth season at Orange, has guided the school to a

16-2 league record the last three campaigns, including the outright

crown last year.

Fullback Randy Fea capped a nine-play, 71-yard touchdown drive

with a 4-yard run to pull Mesa within 13-7. And the hosts went 80

yards on 14 plays on their next possession to cut the lead to 21-14.

Orange ended the half with a field goal, then needed just three

plays to roll 61 yards with the second-half kickoff for another TD.

Two plays into Mesa’s ensuing possession, Orange’s Dennis Gerbasi

returned an interception 35 yards to the Mesa 19. Three plays later,

Lamon Davis ran 20 yards for a touchdown and a 36-14 cushion.

Mesa drove three times to the Orange 17, 21 and 11, respectively, in the final quarter, but saw each drive end without points. The

first ended on a lost fumble, the latter two on downs.

Jeff Waldron recovered a fumble at the Orange 41 to set up an

eight-play touchdown drive capped when Legg ran up the middle from 1

yard out.