Mustangs need to reach deeper

When a football team sits at 1-4 but the season still holds promise, players and coaches must draw inspiration and motivation from deeper sources.

Such is the case for Costa Mesa High, which will travel to Anaheim to face Katella (1-3) tonight at 7 in a nonleague contest at La Palma Park.

The Mustangs’ 1-4 record is ugly, but with the kickoff of the three-game Orange Coast League schedule still three weeks away, the season could still have a beautiful ending.

So thoughts are focused on the level of competition the Mustangs have faced. The five teams Costa Mesa has faced have a combined record of 15-6 and two are leading their divisions.

Costa Mesa Coach Jeremy Osso said he has told his seniors that how the season ends is still very much under their control.

“I talked to them about how a winning team takes advantage of turnovers,” Osso said. “And how we have to practice like we want to play in our games.”

And there is the recent success of the defense against the pass. The Mustangs have held opponents to a combined 139 yards passing the previous three games, fewer than the total compiled against them in their second game alone.

The defense also held Santiago, which came in averaging 36 points a game, scoreless in the second half with only 113 yards.

“We held them to their lowest point total this year,” Osso said.

Osso added that Stephan Wright’s first quarter interception was an example of how the defense has improved. Wright snagged the pass after it ricocheted off one of his teammates.

“We’ve been telling them to rally to the football,” Osso said.

The Mustangs will be limited tonight with five starters benched for the entire game due to disciplinary reasons. Two more starters will miss the first series.

While the rushing offense has not seen the 223-yard success of the opening game, it has been more of a consistent force the past two games.

Osso said Costa Mesa will continue to put the ball in Huynh’s hands and that Lepper, who is averaging more than 20 carries a game, is far from slowing down.

Osso said senior offensive and defensive lineman London Sapolu, who suffered a concussion against Santiago, will not play against Katella.Osso added that Katella, which surrenders and average of 23 points a game, runs an aggressive defense.

“More than anything, that is going to help us is the offensive line being aggressive,” Osso said. “Teams take us lightly and don’t expect us to play as hard as we do.”