Mustangs’ Osso hopes for stability

What a difference three weeks makes.

That was the valuable lesson Costa Mesa High football coach Jeremy Osso learned last season, when his football team was dragging its collective heels in the preseason.

Every summer, high school football teams must take a CIF-sanctioned three-week break, but the decision when to take it is at the coaches’ discretion.

Osso, Costa Mesa’s fourth football coach in as many seasons, had elected for Costa Mesa to take its break at the end of July, and by the time preseason football rolled around, he found that his charges had forgotten half the playbook.

There was a refreshing of memories.

“When we came back last year, there was a lot of going over the same plays that we had taught already, and so this time we didn’t want to have to go through that again,” Osso said.

This year, Osso opted to take the three-week dead period right after graduation, and started practices in mid-July. So far, the switch has paid off tremendously, even on the admittedly youthful team.

“We’re definitely further along than we were last year at this time,” Osso said. “We’re in a lot better shape than we were last year too, I think. With the three-week dead period during the end, kids don’t run during that period, so they come back a little bit rusty, a little bit out of shape.”

The youth isn’t something that can be ignored. A week before the Mustangs’ Thursday week-zero opener against Savanna, Osso still hadn’t finalized his roster or skill-position starters. An intrasquad scrimmage Saturday determined the starters for the first game.

“While we had a lot of seniors, we didn’t have a lot of seniors returning with a lot of playing time,” Osso said of last year’s squad. “I think there were maybe three or four on both sides of the ball that had actually had varsity playing time. We lost a lot of starters this year, but we’re in the same boat as far as new players. We have a lot of new starters on varsity, but at least most of these guys have been in the system for a year, so they have a better idea of what we’re doing.”

But the biggest challenge Osso may face this year is revamping the team’s struggling defense.

The Mustangs were 3-7 last season, and allowed their opponents to score 26.8 points per game. Conversely, Mesa only scored 9.4 per contest.

The four-three defense that has become standard for most area high schools was clearly not working for Costa Mesa. This year, Osso is implementing the Cover Two one-gap system, hoping to shore up big holes that led to results such as last season’s 55-7 loss at Savanna.

“In our defense, we’re only responsible for one gap,” Osso explained. “Where in most three-four defenses people are responsible for two, or for occupying linemen, that way the linebackers can flow. In this, there’s no occupying. It’s just go.”

Osso also admitted he’s a huge Tony Dungy fan, and he thought it best to model the defense after those of the Super Bowl-winning coach, meaning a smaller, quicker defense for more forceful attacking.

At 6-1, 167 pounds, middle linebacker Robbie Gemayel qualifies as small. Or at least “smaller.”

“He’s not like what you see when you look at the pros or you look at college, or some of the bigger high schools,” Osso said. But, he insists Gemayel’s effectiveness is proven in his numbers. Gemayel had 117 tackles in eight games last season.

“That’s the whole idea,” Osso said. “To be quicker than the other team.”

On offense, Osso plans on using the I-formation and multiple fronts for the running game, and a typical West Coast passing attack.

Still, with so few returning starters — four on offense and six on defense — the uncertainty of his sophomore season looms over Osso almost at much as it did in his inaugural one.

“I mean, we look good against ourselves, but I don’t know how we’re going to look on Friday night,” Osso said. “I think we definitely look better than we did last year, but I guess we’ll find out Friday.”