Uphill battle continues for Mustangs

RICK DEVEREUX

The season could not have gotten off to a worse start for the Costa

Mesa High football team. Dave Perkins was fired as head coach and

athletic director July 23, six weeks before the first game. Tom

Baldwin was elevated from linebacker and receiver coach to the head

spot Aug. 11.

“We had to piece together a coaching staff,” Baldwin said. “It has

been tough. All of my coaches have other jobs and schedules.”

Nick Romo was not able to accept the job as defensive line coach

until a week before the first game because of a scheduling conflict.

But the staff was put into place and Baldwin tried to make the

adjustment as easy as possible for the players. He kept a similar

offensive system, but installed a new attacking style of defense.

Baldwin tried to downplay the effect Perkins’ firing had on the

team.

“Everything is going fine because the kids are familiar with most

of the coaches and there are only a couple of new ones,” Baldwin said

before the season. “There’s not going to be much of a transition

period because we’re going to be running basically the same offense

as last year.”

But it was evident that something was not right with the Mustangs.

Costa Mesa got off to an 0-5 start, including a 10-9 loss to Laguna

Beach in Week 4. Baldwin took the blame for the poor start, but it

was hardly his fault.

Poor pass protection, blown coverages and penalties were the main

culprits for the winless start. While a coach can put a player in a

position to win or prepare a player for what the opposition will run,

it is ultimately the players’ responsibility to perform.

Plus, Costa Mesa has had to play at Newport Harbor High instead of

its regular home site at Orange Coast College while OCC’s LeBard

Stadium was getting remodeled.

“We never really had a home game this year because we’ve had to

get on a bus and go to Harbor,” Baldwin said. “OCC is right across

the street from us, so that is obviously easier for us. If we get in

a bus and go to Harbor, we might as well go to any other school.”

Costa Mesa (2-6, 2-2 in the Golden West League) has won two of its

last three, including Friday’s, 25-22, come-from-behind league

victory over Ocean View.

The Mustangs have a bye this week and face a tough Orange team

Nov. 5 at OCC. If Costa Mesa can upset Orange, the Mustangs will be

in a position to secure a playoff spot with a win over Estancia Nov.

12.

But the road to the playoffs might have been much easier. The

entire coaching staff reminisces about two games that slipped through

the team’s fingers.

“We should have beaten Laguna Beach and Saddleback,” Baldwin said.

“That would put us at 4-4 and 3-1 in league and then the Orange game

wouldn’t be such a must-win for us.”

Mesa controlled Saddleback, gaining 224 rushing yards compared to

the Roadrunners’ 88, but the Mustangs were penalized 18 times for 130 yards. Costa Mesa lost, 27-14.

While the Mustangs have been heavily penalized this year (79 times

for 600 yards), the team has been lauded for its good sportsmanship.

A letter from a Brea Olinda player’s parent, posted on a bulletin

board inside the Costa Mesa locker room, praises the Mustangs for

playing with class and dignity.

And that is not the only time the opposition has noticed and

appreciated how the Costa Mesa team plays.

“I had an Ocean View parent come up to me and thank me for how our

guys played,” assistant coach Izzy Isbell said. “We try to instill

[sportsmanship] from the very beginning.”

The coaches try to make the players take responsibility for their

actions and understand how many people are affected by inappropriate

actions.

“I tell my guys that they are a reflection of the school, the

coaching staff and the rest of the team,” Romo said. “They are taught

that everyday. It’s a reflection of us and each other.”

Baldwin is quick to point out that while many of the penalties

have been holding and offsides, “there were some kids talking back to

a ref and we got a taunting penalty once, so those things have to

stop.”

Even if the Mustangs don’t make it to the playoffs, the Costa Mesa

coaching staff is showing the team how to be winners.