Mustangs in playoffs

COSTA MESA — A Costa Mesa High banner with the words “OC LEAGUE CHAMPS” on top and “2 DOWN 2 TO GO” below held true to form for a short moment.

Then the Orange Coast League game started.

No disrespecting Calvary Chapel, but Costa Mesa really had only one game left to win the outright league championship.

Calvary Chapel tried everything, running the single wing, to punting on third down, to sending a player in motion during a punt, to running the wildcat formation.

None of the tricks worked Saturday night at Estancia High. Halloween was the night before.

The Mustangs won, 35-7, making it four straight victories while clinching one of the league’s three playoff berths.

Costa Mesa (4-5, 3-0 in league) is closing in on a league title for the second straight year.

When the Mustangs return to the same field in two weeks, it could be playing for its first outright league crown since 2002.

Laguna Beach (2-0 in league) has to beat visiting Estancia next week in order for there to be two unbeaten league teams battling for the title in the regular-season finale.

This upcoming week is a bye for the Mustangs. Costa Mesa Coach Jeremy Osso plans to attend the Laguna Beach game and he will root for his alma mater, Estancia.

“I don’t want [the Breakers] to beat [Estancia],” Osso said. “I want Estancia to beat them [because] then we clinch a share of the league [before the final game].

“But we want an outright title. We’ve come this far, we want to run the table. This isn’t about sharing.”

The Mustangs want no part of that after splitting the league’s top spot with crosstown rival Estancia in 2007.

During warmups, the Eagles looked like they might be able to keep it close. The Mustangs were without starting quarterback Todd Davis (hip) and kicker Hector Solis (leg).

Calvary Chapel (2-6, 0-2) wound up kicking itself in the first quarter.

Rather than go for it on third-and-eight inside its own 20-yard line, the Eagles called for Kevin Schick to boot the ball away rather than throw it.

It made sense.

Schick, normally a tight end, filled in at quarterback for the first time. Coach Lyle Lansdell said his Eagles have gone through different quarterbacks since losing starter Daniel Fierro to a medical condition after the second game of the season.

The Mustangs wound up picking off three passes. One of those was by outside linebacker Jeff Dye.

The senior returned the interception 43 yards for a touchdown, giving Costa Mesa a 22-0 lead before halftime. The hardest part was controlling the adrenaline rush that hit him while running down the Calvary Chapel sideline.

“I thought I was going to fall,” said Dye, who ended up falling in the end zone. “I was pretty tired.”

So was John Galvin, who came up with the Mustangs’ fifth turnover of the game.

It was a bit understandable why the cornerback decided to run out of bounds after intercepting a pass in the end zone in the fourth quarter.

The senior returned the second-half kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown..

Backup quarterback Brian Waldron had a shorter TD, scoring the game’s first points on a one-yard sneak.

Senior Antwon Byrd finished with 101 yard on 16 carries and he scored on a 40-yard run.

In two weeks, Byrd will get back a healthy quarterback in Davis and a punter in Solis.

He no longer will have to stand next to Waldron during punts.

“We’re not going to let up at all,” Dye said. “We want this [outright league championship].”

COSTA MESA 35, CALVARY CHAPEL 7

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Calvary Chapel 0-0-0-7--7

Costa Mesa 0-22-13-0--7

SECOND QUARTER

CM – Waldron 1 run (run failed), 7:33.

CM – Byrd 40 run (Byrd run), 2:35.

CM – Dye 43 INT return (Byrd run), 2:06.

THIRD QUARTER

CM – Galvin 83 kickoff return (kick failed), 11:48.

CM – Scheffner 2 run (Albers kick), 2:52.

FOURTH QUARTER

CC – Matsuda 3 run (Schick kick), 4:35.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

CC – Matsuda, 24-133, 1 TD; Perez, 11-21; Moore, 4-19; Martin, 1-7; Schick, 5-0; Tanaka, 1-minus 4.

CM – Byrd, 16-101, 1 TD; Gemayel, 4-37; Scheffner, 4-28, 1 TD; Quinones, 3-12; Pederson, 3-11; Nguyen, 3-6; Miller, 2-5; M. Gomez, 1-5; Galvin, 1-minus 2; Waldron, 6-minus 3, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

CC – Schick, 4-12-3, 25; Tanaka, 0-1-0, 0.

CM – Waldron, 0-2-0, 0; Scheffner, 0-1-0, 0.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

CC – McDaniel, 1-14; Correa, 1-7; Perez, 1-6; Matsuda, 1-minus 2.

CM – None.

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