Mustangs left hoping for playoffs after loss

NEWPORT BEACH — In a position to win a share of the Orange Coast League championship, Costa Mesa High had its chances on Thursday night against Laguna Beach.

But converting those chances into touchdowns, which has been the Mustangs’ bugaboo all season, again proved challenging in a 22-7 loss at Newport Harbor High that clinched the league championship for the Breakers.

Two times in the game, Costa Mesa got the ball to the Breakers eight-yard line, but the Mustangs came away empty both times.

Costa Mesa now has to hope that favored Estancia loses tonight to Calvary Chapel, which would make all three teams 1-2 in league and result in a coin flip for the second CIF Southern Section Southern Division playoff spot.

But the Mustangs (3-7, 1-2), while disappointed at the result against Laguna Beach (5-5, 3-0), weren’t disappointed at their progress throughout the season.

“These seniors have worked so hard, and these juniors and sophomores have come a long way,” Coach Jeremy Osso said. “From where we were at the Savanna game [a 55-7 opening-week loss], to where we are now, is a 180-degree turn. We’ve come a long way in just 10 short weeks.”

Laguna Beach went a long way on the ground Thursday night, piling up 374 rushing yards. Devin Hands, Zach Smith and quarterback Charley Bowman all rushed for 88 yards or more.

The trio set up the game’s first touchdown, after a high Mustangs punt snap resulted in a blocked kick for Laguna Beach at the Costa Mesa 26.

On fourth-and-one at the seven-yard line, the snap went directly to Smith, who carried it into the end zone for a 6-0 Laguna Beach lead. And the Breakers added to their lead on a 65-yard drive late in the first half, culminating in Bowman’s two-yard keeper touchdown with 1:11 before intermission.

Osso said that Costa Mesa, which netted just 62 yards in the half, had to try to pass because the Breakers were using their linebackers to stuff the run.

But the Mustangs completed just three-of-12 first-half passes, many of the attempts coming with quarterback Cody Waldron scrambling out of the pocket.

“We had some breakdowns on the offensive line in the first half, and that’s a problem,” Osso said. “Whenever you get pressure in the quarterback’s face and you’re asking him to make a perfect throw under duress, it’s not always easy.”

The Mustangs did move the ball nicely on their first drive of the second half, as Waldron hit Kirkland Huynh on a 38-yard completion to the Breakers’ 16.

“We had a [bad] first half,” Huynh said. “We knew that if we were going to win in the second half, we had to come back out strong.”

On fourth-and-two at the Laguna Beach eight-yard line, Costa Mesa tried play-action, but Laguna Beach snuffed it out with a sack and got the ball back.

On the Mustangs’ next drive, Costa Mesa running back D.J. Lepper took matters into his own hands. On third-and-24, Costa Mesa called a run to Lepper, who used a hard block downfield by Asa Hawks to help an 81-yard touchdown run down the Mustangs’ sideline.

“They did some things defensively in the first half to take away D.J., so we had to go to the pass,” Osso said. “When we got some passes completed, it opened some things for D.J. again.”

But Laguna Beach calmly responded, going on a 61-yard drive that ended when Bowman took it in from 12 yards out, building the Breakers’ lead to 22-7 with 3:11 left in the third quarter.

On Costa Mesa’s next drive, the Mustangs got a first-and-goal at the Laguna Beach eight. But, as the fourth quarter started, the Mustangs had a delay of game penalty, making it first-and-goal at the 13 instead.

After a false start, an incomplete pass and two short runs, it was fourth-and-goal at the 17, and another incomplete pass caused a turnover on downs with 10:22 left in the game.

“That’s been the make-up of our year,” Osso said. “We drive and drive and drive, but we can’t finish our drives. But these guys have come a long way.”

Costa Mesa had one last possession to try to pull back within a score, but could only get as far as its own 48 before turning the ball over on downs.

If the Mustangs’ season is over, Huynh agreed that he was happy with the result.

“It was a good experience,” he said. “I wouldn’t give it back for anything. I’d go to battle with these guys any time.”