Mustangs topped in Orange Bowl

The Costa Mesa Jr. Pee Wee Mustangs lost to the Huntington Beach

Green Chargers, 13-0, in the Orange Bowl -- the Division II

championship game of the Orange Empire Pop Warner Conference at La

Mirada High Saturday.

Quarterback Mark Sakioka led the Mustangs, along with running back

Sho Watanabe, fullback Tyler Henry, tight end Zack Porteous and

defensive specialist Parker Eddy.

“There wasn’t really a whole lot going,” Mustangs’ Coach Dan Bauer

said. “We got outplayed, didn’t make necessary adjustments and had

trouble moving the ball.”

A dominant Huntington running attack and two big pass plays gave

the Mustangs the loss. Huntington had a 20-yard touchdown pass and

another 20-yard pass to put the Green Chargers in scoring position.

Costa Mesa defeated the Green Chargers earlier this season, 8-0,

but could not repeat the outcome Saturday, as the Mustangs ended

their season 8-2. Huntington Beach finished its season 9-2.

The Mustangs had their five-game winning streak snapped Saturday.

Their previous loss was to Los Alamitos, a 24-12 decision Oct. 2.

“It’s very upsetting, especially since we had beat [Huntington]

before,” assistant coach Sean Patterson said. “All the kids tried

really hard, but it just wasn’t happening.”

Costa Mesa defeated Lakewood, 14-2, in the quarterfinals and

defeated Long Beach, 14-6, in the semifinals to advance to the

championship game.

“All the kids caught some bad breaks,” Bauer said. “[Huntington]

just came out better than us.”