Mesa looking to go back to back

In a perfect football world, Coach Jeremy Osso said his Costa Mesa High team starts the season with a 3-0 record.

Leading the Mustangs to a victory in their third game of the season for the first time in his four-year career will suffice.

The Mustangs (1-2) look for another win tonight when they play Santa Ana (2-0) at Newport Harbor High at 7.

Figuring out the day and site was problematic. The two teams settled on Davidson Field after Osso said Costa Mesa asked host Santa Ana to push the nonleague game back a day.

“We thank them because we had to change the day because we have back-to-school night Thursday,” said Osso, whose Mustangs are going for back-to-back wins.

Costa Mesa will try to earn the second victory on a familiar field.

The Mustangs used to play at Newport Harbor before they began calling Jim Scott Stadium at Estancia their home last year.

“It’s a nice treat,” Osso said of not having to play the game at Santa Ana Stadium, the home of the Saints. “But we still have to play the opponent and we’re not playing the field.”

Playing Santa Ana last year created issues for the Mustangs. The two programs back then actually played on a back-to-school night, not for Costa Mesa, but rival Estancia.

The Saints hammered Costa Mesa, 41-9, and their running back, nursing a sprained left ankle, recorded a career day with 251 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

That player, Robert Peralta, is back. He goes by the first name “Bobby” in his senior year.

Osso said Peralta enters the game hurt again.

“He didn’t play the last game,” Osso said of Peralta, who saw Santa Ana amass 463 yards rushing and beat Century, 45-7. “In their second game, [Frankie Nerida and Chris Carter each] rushed for [more than] 100 yards.

“We’re going to have to keep their running backs off the field. We need to control the clock.”

The Mustangs last week effectively controlled the action in the first three quarters before beating Saddleback, 28-14.

This is the second straight Golden West League opponent for Costa Mesa. The first two games of the season were against teams from the Pacific Coast League and the offense mustered only six points.

Last week, quarterback Todd Davis delivered a strong performance, 240 yards and two touchdowns on 11 of 15 passing. The senior threw 62- and 57-yard touchdown passes to wide receiver Brian Waldron.

“One of the things we’ve worked on is getting him to release the ball quicker,” Osso said of Davis. “He had a tendency to hold on to the ball and he would get sacked.

“We have adjusted. We would’ve liked a 3-0 start, but CdM and Beckman are [now] ranked [No. 2 and No. 7, respectively, in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division poll] and are good programs. Someone has to lose games.”

In a perfect football world, Costa Mesa would be undefeated.