Virgen’s View: Matt Colby Award returns to Costa Mesa

The return of the Matt Colby Award proved to be one of several highlights during the Costa Mesa High football banquet at Mesa Verde Country Club on Friday night.

The Matt Colby Award, named after the Costa Mesa player who died from injuries in a game in 2001, also caused plenty of emotion.

There are usually tears at a banquet to reflect on a season and honor seniors. There are also funny moments. But the night had a serious moment when Costa Mesa Coach Glen Fisher talked about the award to honor a player who showed great leadership and a strong dedication to the team concept.

You could tell the award is special to Fisher, who can relate to the Colby story.

He worked at Beckman as a coach in 2007, when Beckman football player Kenny Wilson died after the first day of fall training.

“It was hard to talk about it,” Fisher said of presenting the award that had been dormant since 2010. “Going through that, it changes you. You realize what you’re doing is so much more than winning football games. You have such a love for your kids. Tony [Fuentes] is that kind of kid.”

Fuentes, a senior defensive back, impressed his coaches with his attention to detail and his lead-by-example type of play this season.

“Tony is absolutely everything you want in a young man, everything you look for that’s good,” Fisher said. “He’s the most unselfish young man that you could ever imagine. He going on to fight for this country. He’s going to the Army. He’s an incredible kid.”

It appears Fisher and Costa Mesa maintained a great standard with their choice for the award.

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•Brandon Greenhouse, the defensive line coach for the Mustangs, affectionately referred to his players as, “my hogs,” at the banquet when he talked about them.

Greenhouse also shared a story to show an example about why he loves the players so much. The story also showed the strong love and care the players had for their coaches.

“One of my close friends died during the season,” Greenhouse said. “During a practice I couldn’t help it. I broke down crying. [The players] showed they loved me back. Each one of them told me, ‘I love you, coach,’ and they were there for me.”

The team’s strong bond also showed during the team’s 2015 season video. There was a poignant moment that showed the players dancing together in the locker room.

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•Costa Mesa, which went 5-5, had a strong start to the season, winning five of its first six games. The Mustangs had plenty to celebrate during their banquet.

They honored seniors, as well as those who stood out in the classroom and on the field.

Sammy Swanson, who was named Linebacker of the Year, had the highest grade-point average for Costa Mesa, at 4.5.

Cameron Curet, named the Team MVP, wasn’t far behind with his 4.4 GPA.

Eddie Vargas, Neru Fesili, Angel Valle and Andrew Garcia also had a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

Roman Ayala was named the Mustangs Offensive Lineman of the Year.

Defensive Lineman of the Year: Helper Kisino.

Offensive Skill Player of the Year: Christian Villaverde.

Defensive Back of the Year: Luke Tsuge.

Offensive MVP: Jon Brucales.

Defensive MVP: Josh Snipes.

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•The seniors laid down the foundation for what’s in store for the Mustangs’ future, Coach Fisher said. That future sure looks promising.

Curet, Swanson, Brucales, Fuentes, Fesili, Kisino, Snipes, Eddie Vargas, Daniel Arias, Andrew Garcia, Will Grijalva, Rikki Hernandez and Mason Mataafa were the seniors for the Mustangs.

Mataafa, who battled several injuries throughout the season, has great talent and could play on the next level. The same goes for Curet, who was named to the All-Orange Coast League first team. Curet, who contributed in just about every facet of the game, was also nominated to receive All-CIF Southern Section Southern Division honors as a punter, Fisher said.

His 46.6 yards-per-punt was the best in the division, Fisher said. Curet also had 92% of his kickoffs go for touchbacks. Maybe kicking and/or punting could be in his future on the next level.

As for the future at Costa Mesa, Fisher remains excited, especially with the school’s new football stadium being constructed.

Fisher said he recently joined Twitter and has been tweeting photos of the stadium construction. He says it’s a great way to recruit players for the team, as depth has been a challenge for the Mustangs.

“I’m so impressed with the young men in the program and the things we overcame to achieve things that we did achieve,” Fisher said. “It gives all of us great hope for what’s down the road. I know we are going to do some really great things here.”