Cavs top Mesa

GARDEN GROVE — Halfway through its regular season, the Costa Mesa High football team will find out if what happens in Garden Grove stays in Garden Grove.

Coach Jeremy Osso hopes not for the defense, which allowed a season-low 20 points in Friday night’s 20-9 nonleague loss to Santiago at Garden Grove High.

But the lack of offense can stay just off the 22 Freeway for the Mustangs (0-5), who lost their second consecutive game in the city and are still failing to put many points on the board. Costa Mesa didn’t score a touchdown Friday until just more than a minute remained in the game, when Cody De La Mater rumbled in from two yards away.

Osso also knows the fact that Mesa is having trouble putting drives together means the Mustangs are also losing the field-position war.

Santiago (3-1), which led, 6-2, at halftime, kicked off to the Mustangs to open the second half. But Mesa got backed into a third-and-20 from its own two-yard line, and the punt gave the Cavaliers the ball at the Costa Mesa 25.

Nine consecutive Santiago running plays later, Gary Lopez scored from a yard out to push Santiago’s lead to 12-2.

“That’s a great example,” Osso said. “We’re giving them the ball on our 20 and we’re setting up our defense in a huge hole. If the defense is on the field all night, eventually they’re going to score. We’ve got to put a whole drive together.”

Antwon Byrd returned at tailback for the Mustangs, rushing for a team-best 50 yards while splitting time with Robbie Gemayel (48 yards). But Osso said Byrd re-aggravated his hip flexor injury in the third quarter and will need to be evaluated.

Costa Mesa put consistent pressure on Santiago quarterback Harvey Alavez, and didn’t allow Lopez to go off rushing the ball like he did when the teams met a year ago.

“Our defense played very well tonight,” Osso said.

Lopez, who rushed for 158 yards last year against Mesa, was held to just 36 on Friday. But he still had two touchdowns, one on the ground and one through the air from Alavez.

Costa Mesa first put points on the scoreboard midway through the first quarter. With the Cavaliers backed up deep in their own territory, a pass went to Lopez in the flat. But Mustangs junior cornerback Manny Gomez alertly tackled him before he could get out of the end zone.

It would be more than three quarters before Costa Mesa would add to that two-point score. The drive that ended in De La Mater’s score began when Mesa sophomore Brian Waldron intercepted a pass.

But by then, the Cavaliers had made it a three-possession game. Late in the third quarter, running back Danny Rujchanarong scored the Cavs’ third touchdown on a 20-yard run.

“We just have to execute,” Osso said. “It’s as simple as that.”

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at matthew.szabo@latimes.com.

FIRST QUARTER

CM – safety, M. Gomez tackled receiver in end zone, 4:11.

SECOND QUARTER

S – Lopez 15 pass from Alavez (kick failed), 0:58.

THIRD QUARTER

S – Lopez 1 run (run failed), 5:52.

S – Rujchanarong 20 run (Lopez pass from Alavez), 1:12.

FOURTH QUARTER

CM – De La Mater 2 run (Solis kick), 1:02.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

CM – Byrd, 15-50; Gemayel, 15-48; De La Mater, 6-22, 1 TD; Waldron, 6-minus-15.

S – Rujchanarong, 11-81, 1 TD; Lopez, 10-36, 1 TD; Alavez, 7-5; Sanchez, 1-0; Ho, 1-0.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

CM – Waldron, 4-11-0, 54; Farthing, 1-1-0, 8.

S – Alavez, 6-12-1, 80, 1 TD; Lopez, 2-2-0, 47.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

CM – Gemayel, 1-33; Erno, 2-15; L. Gomez, 1-13; De La Mater, 1-1.

S – Sanchez, 3-63; Lopez, 3-40, 1 TD; Esquivel, 1-21; Flowers, 1-3.