Costa Mesa wins Battle for the Bell

In the freshman Battle for the Bell, one side rang proudly and

loudly; the other side, more of an awkward clang.

Costa Mesa High’s tandem of Tony Johnson and Dakota Lambert

accounted for six Mustang scores and dominated the field in

Thursday’s 48-6 Golden West League opener over Estancia.

Johnson, the Mustang quarterback, scored on runs of 42 and 19

yards and completed his only pass 62 yards for a score in the third

quarter.

Lambert scored on two runs of 2 yards each, and returned a punt 75

yards to tally 18 of Mesa’s points.

Costa Mesa did not allow a point until less than one minute left

in the contest.

The Mustangs scored on their opening drive when Lambert broke for

his first touchdown on a 2-yard run outside the right tackle.

On the first play of the drive, Johnson rolled to his left and

zigzagged untouched through the Eagle defense 42 yards to give Costa

Mesa a 14-0 lead.

The Mustangs built a 21-point lead when Lambert scooped an Eagle

punt on the second bounce then dashed to his left and scored on a

75-yard return.

On Estancia’s next possession, on fourth-and-9, Radamus Gutierrez

was sacked by Robbie Geymal.

In the third quarter, Costa Mesa made its second big play on

special teams. Jeff Dye came around the left side to block an Eagle

punt. Defensive lineman Randy Mendoza fell on the ball to give the

Mustangs field position deep in Eagle territory.

On the next Costa Mesa possession, Antwon Byrd ran wide around the

left side for a 36-yard score.

Estancia did break the shutout with a long drive in the fourth

quarter.

Jason Moreno scored on a 1-yard plunge over the left side of the

line with approximately 45 seconds to go in the game.

On the other hand, Costa Mesa Coach Brad De Soto had plenty of

good things to say.

“We have been increasing our intensity level every week, and I

want to see us maintain this level,” De Soto said. “We moved a lot of

players into different positions and I feel we are where we should be

at this point.”

COSTA MESA 48, ESTANCIA 6

SCORE BY QUARTERS

*--*

Estancia 0 0 0 6 - 6

Costa Mesa 14 20 14 0 - 48

*--*

FIRST QUARTER

CM -- Lambert 2 run (Rodriguez kick), 4:00.

CM -- Johnson 42 run (Rodriguez kick), 1:00.

SECOND QUARTER

CM -- Lambert 75 punt return (Rodriguez kick), 7:30.

CM -- Lambert 2 run (Rodriguez kick), 4:00.

CM -- Johnson 19 run (pass failed), 1:00.

THIRD QUARTER

CM -- Gemayel 68 pass from Johnson (Rodriguez kick), 7:00.

CM -- Byrd 32 run (Rodriguez kick), 3:00

FOURTH QUARTER

EST -- Moreno 1 run (run failed), 0:45.

Scoring times estimated.

A -- 200 (est.)

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

Est -- Moreno 15-60, 1TD; Gutierrez 5-27; Arguetta 4-25; Montague

4-25.

CM -- Johnson 7-136, 2 TD; Byrd 2-50, 1 TD; Lambert 5-30, 2 TD.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

Est -- Gutierrez 3-9-0, 1.

CM --Johnson 1-3-0, 62, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

Est -- Gemayel 1-62, 1TD.

CM -- Moreno 1-1; Montague 2-0.