Big plays hurt Mustangs

ANAHEIM — For D.J. Lepper, his first varsity football game was as forgettable as it was memorable.

Sure, years from now the Costa Mesa senior running back will boast of his 173 rushing yards on 29 hard-fought carries, all of which came against a Savanna squad that towered over him and his teammates.

Chances are though, when Lepper talks about Friday night’s nonleague contest, he’ll leave out the part about Savanna posting a 55-7 victory at La Palma Park.

It was that kind of a season opener for the Mustangs, who are coming off a 2-8 campaign in 2005.

They played a lot better than the final score shows, as evidenced by Lepper’s superb debut and a ball-control offense that netted 286 total yards.

But that wasn’t nearly enough against the host Rebels in a Zero Week game.

“My hat’s off to [the Rebels], they’re going to go a long way this year,” said first-year Mustangs Coach Jeremy Osso of Savanna, which totaled 622 net yards Friday, including 363 yards on the ground.

“They had too much explosiveness for us.”

Osso wasn’t kidding, either.

The Rebels had runs of 55, 46, 34, 33 and 30 yards and passing plays of 42 and 35 yards, and that was just some of their big plays on the night.

In all, Savanna tallied 18 plays of 10-or-more yards, five of which resulted in touchdowns.

Costa Mesa, although efficient on offense, just couldn’t keep up.

The Mustangs fell behind, 14-0, after one, trailed, 28-0, at halftime and entered the fourth quarter down, 41-0.

They didn’t get on the scoreboard until 7:14 remained in the game, thanks to a dazzling 23-yard run by Lepper.

Unfortunately, his score, coupled with Justin Rodriguez’s extra point, still left he Mustangs trailing, 48-7.

Of course, if Lepper continues to perform the way he did Friday, the Mustangs probably won’t be on the wrong end of many more blowouts this season.

Costa Mesa’s run-oriented offense manufactured 16 first downs and totaled 223 yards on the ground.

“There’s nine more games left to play, and I think we’re only going to get better,” said the 5-foot-7, 160-pound running back, who transferred from Estancia after his sophomore season and was relegated to junior varsity duties last year.