Mustangs can’t catch Wildcats

The Costa Mesa High football team was forced to play catch-up early

in its season opener Friday night against host Brea Olinda.

The Mustangs also tried to catch their breath from chasing Brea

receivers, tailbacks and tight ends for most of the evening.

The beginning of the Jay Johnson era began auspiciously for the

Mustangs, with a fumble on the first play of the contest, one of four

turnovers committed by the visitors. Brea, meanwhile, motored like a

well-oiled machine, amassing 414 yards of offense and sending the

Mustangs to a 30-0 setback.

Johnson, in his first season as Mesa’s coach, said the loss was a

combination of factors.

“We couldn’t run the offense the way we wanted to,” Johnson said

of the no-huddle, spread sequence that often uses four wideouts with

a single tailback. “A lot of the kids got tired, lost concentration

and forgot assignments. There were breakdowns on the offensive line

and receivers didn’t catch balls.”

Seven Mustang starters played both offense and defense,

contributing to the fatigue, Johnson said.

“Some of the kids don’t realize the intensity and level you have

to play with throughout the game.”

The Wildcats scored 10 points off Mesa turnovers, including their

final touchdown -- junior Kyle Van Deudekom scampered 15 yards up the

middle with seven minutes, 22 seconds left in the third quarter.

Van Deudekom raced for a game-high 118 yards on 16 carries and

also caught two passes for 46 yards.

The Wildcats were just as lethal through the air, where junior

quarterback Jeff Fleming completed 11 of 13 passes for 225 yards,

three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Five Brea receivers caught passes, including standout senior tight

end Tommy Gallarda, who hauled in 12 balls for 82 yards and two

touchdowns.

Gallarda, who received a offer letter from Tulsa University while

gaining interest from several Pac-10 schools, used his 6-foot-6,

220-pound frame to often leap over the smaller Mesa secondary to

corral passes.

His first touchdown, an 18-yard catch-and-run, boosted Brea’s

cushion to 9-0 with two seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Mesa went four-and-out on its next series, and Brea started at its

own 36 after a 44-yard punt from senior kicker Ryan Bagwell.

The Wildcats marched 64 yards in five plays, capped by Fleming’s

27-yard TD toss to Gallarda.

The Mustangs held the Wildcats, who amassed 16 first downs to

Mesa’s six, on the next series -- senior Mitch Caldwell knocked away

a floating pass in the end zone on fourth down.

Mesa marched 58 yards in eight plays to the Wildcats’ 15, the

furthest it reached, but Gallarda burst around the left side and hit

quarterback senior Ryan French on second-and-7, forcing a fumble Brea

would recover and convert into a field goal, building a 23-0 lead

with 32 seconds left in the first half. The Mustangs didn’t reach the

50 until the final series of the game.

Brea’s defense held Mesa without a first down in the second half

until 4:11 showed in the fourth quarter. Senior tailback Tyler Legg

raced for nine of his 79 rushing yards to lead the team.

French completed 6 of 25 passes for 67 yards, but receivers

dropped a handful of passes. Caldwell caught one pass for 25 yards

while Legg hauled in three balls for 18 yards.

The Joey Rieken caught three passes for 81 yards, including a

52-yard touchdown reception for Brea.

The Wildcats’ bevy of options created match-up problems for Mesa.

“We put another [defensive back on Gallarda], but the game soon

got out of hand,” Johnson said.

“It creates mismatches and no double coverages,” Gallarda said.