Monday Morning Quarterback:

Six Costa Mesa High players were suspended one was kicked off the team last week for missing practice, Costa Mesa sophomore quarterback Brian Waldron said Sunday.

Coach Jeremy Osso made the decision Tuesday to suspend the six players, three of who were starters, for one game for missing practice. Of the six players, three elected not to come back to practice Wednesday, essentially quitting the team.

Osso said the players could be on the team as long as they agreed to extra practice work as punishment.

Three players agreed to Osso’s terms and showed up Wednesday.

The other three did not.

“We have a set of team rules, just like if you’re a teacher you have a set of classroom rules, and if people don’t follow them, they get disciplined,” the second-year coach said.

Osso said he was not concerned that anyone else would leave the team.

“I guess they just didn’t want to go through the commitment of coming to practice every day and not having the results they wanted like a wining record,” said Waldron, who is friends with the suspended players. “So I guess they decided they didn’t want to go through it anymore.”

Osso’s 40-man roster was trimmed to 33 available players for Saturday’s game at Rim of the World, which Costa Mesa (0-7) lost 44-0. Osso will have 36 players for the bye week. The Mustangs have three more games this season, and they open Orange Coast League play with their next game at Laguna Beach Oct. 26th.

“It affected our depth, and we had to have more guys going both ways again,” Osso said. “Backups were in short supply last night. We thought one of the kids had broken his leg, but he was walking around after the game, and the other kid had a shoulder injury, but he’ll be ready to go by Wednesday.”

Brian Simrak will follow up with the doctor for his leg, and Argenis Valencia had the shoulder injury.

The three players who elected not to return to practice Wednesday still have a spot on the team if they are willing to accept Osso’s punishment, Waldron said.

“He’s still giving them the opportunity to come back if they want to,” Waldron said. “If they’re willing to take the punishment, they can come back whenever they’re ready. Coach Osso’s being really lenient.”

Despite the fact that he feels deserted, Waldron said he would be willing to accept his old teammates if they wanted to come back, too.

“It’d be great,” Waldron said. “It’s tough to accept them with open arms, but they went through a lot with us earlier in the season. It’s frustrating that they just leave us out in the cold, just leave us hanging there. I talk to them, they’re my friends. There’s not that much left in the season, so if they want to come back, it’s fine with me.”

The seniors at Costa Mesa haven’t experienced a winning season since they stated playing. Last year, the team finished 3-7, and before that, the Mustangs were 2-8. In 2004, Costa Mesa was 3-7.

“They just couldn’t take it anymore,” Waldron said. “They haven’t been successful in the past couple of years, so they were just done with it.”

But Waldron is hoping that will change during his career.

“I know all the coaching staff is working all that they can,” he said. “It’s not their fault. We haven’t been executing what they taught us. Last night, we only had two seniors on the field. I know that if we keep working hard, next year or the year after that, it’s going to change.”

Corona del Mar Coach Dick Freeman is hoping that opening Pacific Coast League play will give the Sea Kings the boost they need to propel them to wins for the next three games.

The team has yet to win two games in a row, but Freeman was generally pleased with the way the Sea Kings played Thursday.

“Again, we had some penalties that stopped us,” Freeman said. “We ran the ball OK. We threw the ball for a high percentage, so I was pretty happy with that. And then, defensively, I thought we had a pretty good game.”

University is looking like the most challenging league opponent so far because of the Trojans’ speed. Freeman thought Irvine did a good job of sticking with University in the 31-14 loss, but that University wore the team out toward the end of the game.

“I think talent-wise, Uni has a lot of talent, but Irvine has some things that will give you some problems,” Freeman said.

Now that Estancia has drummed up some momentum with a win over Vasquez, the idea is to keep it pumping through the bye week, since the Eagles are also looking to put together a win streak.

Though senior Eddie Tomasek was 7-8 for 163 passing yards and two touchdowns playing quarterback Friday, Coach Mike Bargas still expects Radames Gutierrez to start when Estancia resumes play Oct. 26 against Calvary Chapel since Tomasek is also a starting linebacker.

The game will be the Eagles’ Pacific Coast League opener.

“He did a great job,” Bargas said. “I think he filled in nicely. We were concerned with the exchange with the football, but it worked out well. Radames is going to be our guy, I think. It’s good to know that we’ve got a guy behind him who can throw the ball.”

If necessary, Tomasek can also serve as a threat on the ground, if necessary, but that job belongs to Carlos Mendez.

Bargas will also be monitoring Alek Kirshner, who starts at defensive back on varsity and plays quarterback on junior varsity. Kirshner was also on the sidelines at Vasquez because of an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

“Really, the only concern is that we win the next three games,” Bargas said. “The season comes down to these next three games. I’d like to be consistent with the passing game. It’s be great to balance it out. Hopefully, we can air the ball out a little bit more and keep the defenses honest.”

Bargas has had his share of hair-graying moments during his first season as head coach at Estancia. While he dealt with injuries as an assistant at Newport Harbor, it was never as pressing because the team was bigger, he said.

But, even with the uncertainty at quarterback, the biggest obstacle the Eagles had to overcome in Acton was not knowing what to expect.

Bargas said Vasquez coaches didn’t communicate at all with him, not even a cursory meeting at midfield before the game started, which is customary. The Vasquez coaches also didn’t exchange film.

“We didn’t know what they were going to run and how they were going to line up to us,” Bargas said. “The biggest challenge was trying to figure out what they ran. We were able to drum up the biggest points we’ve had all season. No matter who you play, it’s always nice to get some touchdowns.”

Once league play starts, Bargas will really have a measure of how well the team is conditioned. “These guys are going to have to learn to go four quarters and go both ways,” Bargas said. “I think it may come down to who’s in better shape, and who’s going to be the most physical.”

After giving up 30 points to Mira Costa, the Tars’ defense looked to be back on track in their Sunset League opener against Fountain Valley.

Newport Harbor won 27-7, limiting the Barons to just one score.

“We did a good job keeping them out of the end zone,” Brinkley said. “I told the players after the game, it’s the type of thing where each week, some group is going to have to rise up. Last week it was the offense, this week it was the defense. Next week it might be special teams.”

Brinkley has already started looking at Esperanza, which is undefeated. The Sailors beat the Aztecs last season, spoiling a five-game win streak, and Brinkley knows they’re looking for revenge.

The game is Esperanza’s homecoming.

“After last year, they’re certainly going to be ready to play football,” Brinkley said. “They’ve got a lot of kids back on defense, move around. Hopefully after Dana Hills and playing Fountain Valley, we’ve seen just about any blitz anybody can throw at us.”

Nick Svendsen injured his knee against Fountain Valley and Brinkley is still waiting to find out his status. Woody Yokoyama is still out recovering from a concussion, and should be ready to play against Los Alamitos.

“It was important for us to get out 1-0,” Brinkley said. “We didn’t want to be chasing the field. You don’t want to be 0-1 because then it’s an uphill battle the rest of the time in league.”

SORAYA NADIA McDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or at soraya.mcdonald@latimes.com.