Rivals are latest show on turf

Even at home games, Costa Mesa High will be the visitor.

Technically, that’s not the way it’s supposed to be in your new football stadium.

The ideal plan for Costa Mesa’s two high schools, Costa Mesa and Estancia, is to share Jim Scott Stadium.

Well, sort of.

When the Mustangs play football games, they will use the visitors’ locker room.

“So it feels more homelike,” Costa Mesa Coach Jeremy Osso said. “It doesn’t make sense to have five games in the home [side] and one game in the away [side]. Then it doesn’t feel like a home-field advantage.”

The Mustangs do have to get on a bus to arrive at the $9.5 million state-of-the-art facility. It’s not far at all, 2.5 miles.

But Estancia’s players can walk straight from class to it and still make it before the 10-minute bell rings.

Estancia houses the stadium built for both programs to call home. They can thank Jim Scott Sr., whose name is on the stadium.

Scott Sr. played an instrumental role in making it happen. For this, both schools are grateful.

But when you have two crosstown rivals involved, the question as to who’s benefiting the most differs.

The Mustangs’ logo painted on the field isn’t even the correct one.

“That’s the [Denver] Broncos logo,” Osso said. “I guess they’re both wild horses.”

These two programs don’t plan to share much.

Practice time? No

Equipment? No.

They’re still upset about last year, when Estancia and Costa Mesa split the Orange Coast League title.

Each coach doesn’t count on it happening again.

Making sure they get off on the right foot is top priority.

Costa Mesa is already struggling with the stadium’s field and it hasn’t played a game there yet.

“It’s a different surface,” said Osso of the artificial FieldTurf. “The turf has a little more give to it, it’s a little softer. Maybe practicing on dirt and rocks will toughen us up for when we go to Estancia.”

The rivalry game is on Oct. 17 and Osso thinks Estancia has an edge. The third-year coach is 0-2 against the Eagles.

Unlike Estancia this year, Costa Mesa primarily will practice on grass on campus. Osso said if you can call it grass.

Estancia has ample time to adjust to the new, faster surface. Coach Mike Bargas said he plans for his team to practice on it every day from 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. leading up to game day.

This leaves Costa Mesa with the opportunity to use it afterward.

“It’s really hard,” Osso said. “If I want to go work over there, I have to figure out what time they’re practicing. I have to be able to coordinate my practices with them.

“I’ve got a choice. I can go over there at 5 in the morning, or I can go over there at 6 at night. It doesn’t [work].”

Osso’s team will stick with the regular practice hours.

In order to use the stadium, Bargas said it requires a permit through the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. So what did the second-year coach do?

“You ask for permission to use the stadium,” Bargas said. “It’s probably like he who books it first, gets it first type of deal. I knew that this was going to be the deal when I first got hired. We even have to get permits to use our own practice fields out [on campus], because it’s a joint-use [agreement] with the city.

“If you don’t book it for August, September and October, I guess we’re practicing out at the hills here at Fairview Park.”

Costa Mesa has seen the hills. Good for running cross country events, not football practices.

The Mustangs still ran into problems on the field.

While Costa Mesa shut down its practice fields on campus for maintenance, the Mustangs worked out at Estancia for eight days during a two-week period.

“We had shin splits,” Osso said. “The body has to adjust.”

Osso believes the best solution is easy. That’s if you ignore costs.

He’s heard rumors about the district installing the same turf used in the stadium on Costa Mesa’s football field. Then the financial side comes up.

“You have to lay down that turf. You have to fence the whole thing off,” Osso said. “That’s going to cost more money and economically I don’t know if the city is ready. I don’t know if it’s economically feasible.”

What’s practical is the district saving the $5,000 Osso said it cost Costa Mesa and Estancia each to play a home game at Orange Coast College.

OCC is right across the street from Costa Mesa. It’s more convenient. The team can wait for the walking signal and just stroll over.

Bargas understands the benefits of having a home field on site. So does Osso.

“We didn’t get a stadium [on campus] that helped get [our varsity and junior varsity roster] level up,” said Osso, who has 60 players, a dozen more than in 2007. “They have [73] out. They got [47] freshmen out, too.

“That’s what a stadium [on campus] does for you.”

Another advantage for Bargas will be being on time to home games. Bargas said the Eagles were late to one last season.

“When you’re playing at [Newport Harbor’s] Davidson Field and it’s your home stadium, you still have to get on the bus,” Bargas said. “I don’t care what anybody says. Going across town, you have to cross Newport Boulevard and 17th Street. We have a certain schedule that we follow and we need to be there [on time]. I’d rather be there much earlier than kind of late.

“When you have to get on a bus to travel to home games, it’s not like sitting in your backyard and you’re walking out to the football stadium.”

When Osso walks into Jim Scott Stadium to coach his first game, he’ll recall one conversation. The one he had with Jim Scott Jr. a day after the community honored his 82-year-old father at the stadium in late April.

“I want you to understand this,” said Scott Jr., a 1974 Estancia graduate. “This is as much [for] you guys as it is us. We don’t want this to be Estancia Stadium. We want this to feel like it’s yours, too.”

Osso is an Estancia graduate, a former player and assistant coach.

He didn’t attend his 10-year reunion two years ago, though.

“I didn’t want to be called a traitor,” Osso said. “You know what? [I graduated in] 1996. We’re in 2008. It has been a long time.”

In Osso’s case, he’s not coming home. He’ll lead his team out of the stadium’s visiting locker room to prove it.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at david.carrillo@latimes.com.