HIGH SCHOOLS:

Costa Mesa High is surging toward its first baseball league championship since 1978.

Maybe that’s too hard to believe. But you might find what you read below hard to believe.

The Mustangs are taking a break this week in league play, the entire week off.

Coach Jim Kiefer likes how the schedule has turned out. His Mustangs are 9-1 in the Orange Coast League, ahead of Laguna Beach (7-2 in league) in the standings.

While the Breakers have stuck to their regular practice schedule, Kiefer ordered the Mustangs to take the weekend off. They deserved it after beating Calvary Chapel, 7-4, Friday, and eliminating the defending champion from league title contention.

The Eagles had won the previous two Orange Coast League titles.

A light Costa Mesa practice was scheduled for Monday, a couple of others are in the works to prepare for a nonleague doubleheader against Lynwood Firebaugh (16-7) Friday at TeWinkle Park.

“We didn’t really get a real spring break, real significant time off,” said Kiefer, whose team competed in the Beach Pit Classic during spring break. “We’ll take the opportunity to kind of get some rest and get ourselves ready to go for this stretch [run].

“We know the big games are the following week.”

Costa Mesa and Laguna Beach meet in the final two league games, starting at Laguna Beach on May 12.

It’s sort of ironic the two teams battling for the league crown haven’t won one in decades. Both Costa Mesa and Laguna Beach have suffered when it comes to league championships. The Breakers last ruled league in 1963.

Laguna Beach has two league games this week. The Breakers beat Estancia, 17-3, Tuesday. The other is at home Friday against Estancia.

Don’t count on Laguna Beach losing to Estancia (3-6 in league), which it also beat, 8-0, earlier in the year.

Costa Mesa can win at least a share of its first league title in 31 years if rival Estancia can beat Laguna Beach Friday, or if the Mustangs beat the Breakers once.

 Dan Glenn always impresses people when he coaches volleyball at Newport Harbor. He’s been the head coach at the school for almost a quarter of a century.

His boys are one win away from going perfect in the Sunset League again. With a victory over Edison Tuesday, Newport Harbor (22-7, 9-0 in league) finished as outright Sunset League champion for the second year in a row.

Glenn’s athletes are just as good in the classroom.

Each of his six seniors on the girls’ team are going to play NCAA Division I women’s volleyball next season. This is a first for Glenn, in his 23rd season.

Here are the players, outside hitter Mary Buckingham (UC Berkeley), outside hitter Katie Lawler (Loyola Marymount), middle blocker Alice Cope (Cornell), middle blocker Jennifer Palmquist (Princeton), defensive specialist Carly Cotton (Brown) and setter Arielle Lysacek (University of North Carolina at Greensboro).

 On the football beat, Newport Harbor has three seniors planning to walk on at USC next year, cornerback/wide receiver JB Green, linebacker Brandon Kula and defensive back Michael Helfrich.

Quarterback Andrew McDonald will not.

The senior has decided to walk on at the University of Arizona. His mother, Allyson McDonald, said Andrew has a better shot at getting on the field at Arizona, compared to walking on at Arizona State or USC.

So, Andrew won’t follow his teammates, or the footsteps of his father, Paul, and brother, Mike, who both played quarterback at USC.

 Costa Mesa senior running back Antwon Byrd said he’s leaning toward playing football at Orange Coast College next season.

 Corona del Mar High senior Steven Manning will be attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. to continue his baseball career, Coach John Emme said.

The Red Hawks (31-9) are ranked No. 15 in the nation in NCAA Division III.

Manning is batting .308 with six runs batted in.

As a pitcher, he has a 2-3 record with a 4.40 earned-run average.