Mesa hopes wind blew in a win

Among the many things that have gone up in smoke during the last week in Southern California, is the Costa Mesa High football team’s forgettable 0-7 start.

Much to the delight of Mustangs players, coaches and supporters, seven nonleague losses will amount to nothing more than a little residual ash when Coach Jeremy Osso’s squad kicks off Orange Coast League play tonight at 7 at Laguna Beach High.

With a win over the defending league champion Breakers (1-6), Costa Mesa can halt an eight-game losing streak which dates back to 2006.

“The kids are excited, they really are,” Osso said of his team, which by virtue of a bye week and the postponement of Friday’s scheduled game with Laguna Beach, has gone 16 days since its last contest. “They haven’t been this excited since before the start of the season.”

There has been little to relish since a 55-7 season-opening setback for the Mustangs, who have been outscored, 239-40, been shut out three times, and lost three players who quit.

The layoff has allowed bumps and bruises to heal, Osso said. But the coach is anxious to discover whether the mental baggage accrued in seven frustrating losses, can give way to success.

“Somebody said the other day at practice that the wind has come in and blown the 0-7 start away, just like the smoke from the fires,” Osso said. “We need to regroup now and focus on league. ”

The Mustangs will also need to focus on Laguna Beach senior Charley Bowman, the 2006 Orange Coast League Most Valuable Player who helped the Breakers win all three league games to earn the program’s first league championship since 1987.

The quarterback has thrown for 364 yards and rushed for 257 more this season as the trigger man to an offense that has also struggled to score.

Laguna Beach has been outscored, 215-68, this season. Its only win was a 31-22 verdict on Sept. 7 against La Quinta, which is 0-7.

Costa Mesa and Laguna Beach share one common opponent. The Breakers lost to Santiago, 26-0, on Sept. 14, two weeks before the Cavaliers topped the Mustangs, 20-9.

The Mustangs’ offense may get a boost, as junior tailback Antwon Byrd is ready to play after missing most of the last month due to various leg ailments, Osso said.

Byrd’s 249 rushing yards on 44 carries leads the team.

Mesa will also rely upon junior tailback Robbie Gemayel and senior fullback Cody De La Mater .

Sophomore quarterback Brian Waldron has thrown for 297 yards and two TDs, completing 28 of 82 passes with five interceptions.

Laguna Beach’s offense also features senior tailback Zach Smith (575 yards and two TDs on 100 carries) and junior receiver Jason Colladay (22 receptions for 335 yards).

Bowman is 26 for 68 passing with three interceptions and two TDs. The Breakers have won four of the last five meetings with Costa Mesa on the field, though a 10-0 victory in 2004 was later forfeited to the Mustangs.

Costa Mesa has not won a league opener since 2002 and is 1-7 in its last eight league debuts.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at barry.faulkner@latimes.com.