Mustangs’ makeover kicking in

“The whole idea is to send the seniors out with a winning season,” first-year Costa Mesa High football coach Jeremy Osso said. “That’s the main goal.”

The Costa Mesa roster boasts 19 seniors who would like nothing better, especially after coming off a pair of two-win seasons.

But it won’t be an easy task for a team with just 13 returning lettermen and 30 new varsity players trying to get used to a new offense and a new coach.

The Mustangs will try to run a power-run, West-Coast style offense out of the I-formation. Osso, 29, helped run a similar offense at Corona del Mar last season as a co-offensive coordinator.

The Mustangs were primarily a double-wing run offense before Jay Johnson took over last season and installed a spread offense.

Former Costa Mesa assistant Bill Lux returns to run the Mustangs’ offense. Lux was an assistant under former Mustangs coach Dave Perkins and is a Costa Mesa alum.

Osso switches his focus to the defense, where he’ll primarily run a four-three.

No matter the scheme, the Mustangs are hoping to steadily progress throughout the season with a group of guys hungry to experience victory.

Costa Mesa’s schedule should be conducive to winning.

Costa Mesa’s 10 regular-season opponents had a combined record of 33-68-1 last year.

The Mustangs have not been to the playoffs since 2002 and have not won a playoff game since 1997.

Here’s a position-by-position look at how the Mustangs stack up:

Quarterback: Leading the way is 6-foot-1, 175-pound senior Cody Waldron, who has been in the program for four years. Waldron was the backup to Ryan French last year, when he was three of 23 for 19 yards and three interceptions in the spread offense. He also caught 10 passes for 88 yards at receiver.

Osso said Waldron, who also plays baseball and basketball, has done a good job of picking up the new offense.

“He’s a good roll-out passer with a strong arm,” Osso said. “He’s a heck of an athlete.”

Backing up Waldron will be junior John Slayer and sophomore Brett Farthing.

Running backs: Shifty senior D.J. Lepper is slated to start at running back after a productive season on the junior varsity team.

“He had to play junior varsity last year because he was a transfer from Estancia,” Osso said. “He’s dying to get out there.”

Lepper has moves and he’s not afraid to use them.

“I tell him not to cut too much,” Osso said. “Eventually he has to run straight.”

Osso is big on senior Asa Hawks.

“He’ll play somewhere,” Osso said. “He’s finally buying in. He doesn’t have a starting spot on offense, but he does a lot well. He’ll be on the field.”

Junior Cody De La Mater (5-10, 215) returns to start at fullback, with sophomore Robbie Gemayel backing him up.

Receivers: Senior Kirkland Huynh leads the group of pass catchers. The 5-8, 153-pound Huynh, a returning starter, will typically line up off the line of scrimmage for the Mustangs.

“He’s small but has a big heart and a great work ethic,” Osso said.

Senior Stephan Wright and sophomore Antwon Byrd will battle it out for the other receiver spot.

Senior Steven Nguyen (5-8, 152) and sophomore Manuel Gomez (5-8, 160) are slated to backup Huynh.

Sophomore Christian Argumedo could also see time as a backup.

Tight end: Senior Josh Lowe, a starting receiver last year, is the projected starter. The 6-2, 185-pounder could become an important weapon as a pass-catching tight end.

“He’s definitely faster than most tight ends,” Osso said. “We like to throw to our tight ends. We think they are a valuable part of an offense.”

Sophomore Nick Pederson (5-10, 155) and junior Josh Thoms (5-6, 162) will serve as backups.

Offensive line: Leading the way are returning starters London Sapolu and Rudy Hernandez.

Sapulo (6-0, 245), the son of former NFL All-Pro Jesse Sapolu, has added 20 pounds since last season. The senior left guard is the biggest player on the offensive line.

“London is our strongest player and moves well,” Osso said.

Hernandez (5-8, 240) returns to start at center for the second straight season.

“We’re not real big,” Osso said. “We don’t have any 300-pounders. But you can’t measure heart, and they have heart.”

Sophomores Juan Garces (5-8, 195) and Jason Schroeder (6-3, 200), juniors Eddie Rodriguez (5-11, 215) and Jorge Sandoval (6-1, 225), as well as senior Andres Cancino (6-0, 180) also are battling for playing time.

Defensive line: Sapolu moves from linebacker to end to shore up the front four.

“London has been a beast off the end all summer,” Osso said.

Costa Mesa’s other returning starter is Hernandez at defensive tackle.

Sapolu and Hernandez anchor a unit that could also include Garces, sophomore Justin Rodriguez, junior Eddie Rodriguez, senior Rodrigo Navarrete, Dakota Lambert, Sandoval and Schroeder.

Linebackers: The speedy crew includes De La Mater and Waldron on the outside and either senior Matt Pisarski or Gemayel in the middle.

De La Mater is the biggest of the bunch.

“We run a four-three, one-gap [scheme] that is built on quickness, not size,” Osso said.

Osso said De La Mater hits like a truck and will be counted on to make momentum-changing tackles.

Waldron was a first-team All-Golden West League pick as a strong safety last year.

“He’s a great athlete,” Osso said. “I can’t say enough about him.”

Sophomore Pederson, junior Rafael Hernandez and senior Wright are capable backups, Osso said.

Secondary: Huynh leads the unit as one cornerback, with Lepper and Nguyen battling for the other cornerback spot. All three are 5-8 or shorter.

But the Mustangs feature the 6-2 Lowe at free safety and the 6-1 Hawks at strong safety.

Byrd (6-1) backs them up.

“The thing about our secondary is we have some fast guys on the field,” Osso said.

Another possible scenario has Byrd starting at free safety with Lowe moving to linebacker to give Waldron a rest.

“Bryd is right on the edge of starting,” Osso said. “The other two just have experience on him. That would allow Waldron to get some rest on defense and come to the sideline and talk to us about what’s going on offensively. We don’t know if that’s going to happen yet, but Byrd is going to be a great player in the future.”

Kicking game: Osso said either sophomore Justin Rodriguez or junior Eddie Rodriguez will do the kicking.

Eddie Rodriguez (5-11, 215) will handle the punting chores.

“An offensive lineman doing our kicking,” Osso said. “That’s definitely a first for me.”

Lepper, Lowe and Hawks will share time returning punts and kickoffs.