Sloppy play haunts Costa Mesa as it loses against Santiago

Santiago High senior running back Dylan Ourng had to be pulled out of the game in an ambulance the last time he faced Costa Mesa. Although his team would win last year’s matchup, Ourng did not have the pleasure of celebrating the victory on the field with his teammates.

In Friday night’s nonleague football game against the host Mustangs, it was the Cavaliers (1-0) again who found victory in their home opener, defeating Costa Mesa 28-7.

Behind the dual threat of Ourng (175 rushing yards and two touchdowns) and senior quarterback Angel Tajimaroa (49 rushing yards and two scores), Santiago ran the ball with ease, posting 272 yards on the night.

“They were bigger than us, started leaning on us, and they just outplayed our boys tonight,” Costa Mesa coach Glen Fisher said.

Costa Mesa’s (1-1) offense failed to find a rhythm — dropping passes, fumbling rushes and unable to keep drives alive.

After facing a 14-0 halftime deficit, it was Costa Mesa’s defense that pounced on a spotty passing game and intercepted Tajimaroa, giving the Mustangs hope.

That led to an 81-yard scoring drive led by senior quarterback Ben Swanson, who connected on a 26-yard pass with senior tight end Jack Perez and culminated with a goal line rush by Swanson for the touchdown.

However, the Cavaliers answered back with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

“We missed way too many tackles, missed some opportunities offensively, had some snafus on special teams, everybody has a part in this,” Fisher said. “I told them that we can’t win all 10 games. We can still win our league, we can still go to the playoffs, and in the big scheme of things, tonight is minuscule.”

Costa Mesa next hosts Loara High at 7 p.m. Sept. 8.

Santiago 28, Costa Mesa 7

Santiago…….7 7 0 14 — 28

Costa Mesa…0 0 7 0 — 7

FIRST QUARTER

Santiago – Ourng 10 YD run (Alvarez kick), 5:51.

SECOND QUARTER

Santiago – Ourng 3 YD run (Alvarez kick), 3:45.

THIRD QUARTER

CM – Swanson 1 YD run (Olmeda kick)

FOURTH QUARTER

Santiago – Tajimaroa 1 YD run (Olmeda kick), 11:49.

Santiago – Tajimaroa 1 YD run (Olmeda kick), 6:57

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

Santiago – Ourng, 17-175, 2 TD.

CM – Solis, 6-22.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

Santiago – Tajimaroa, 1-7, 1 INT.

CM – Swanson, 11-25, 88. 1 INT.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

Santiago – Purnell, 1-1.

CM – Perez, 2-31.

JUAN CARLOS GONZALEZ is a contributor to Times Community News: Follow him on Twitter: @JGonzalezSports