Mustangs searching for a little bit of luck

Costa Mesa High football coach Jay Johnson is still waiting for his

beginner’s luck to kick in.

Unfortunately for the first-year coach and the rest of the

Mustangs’ squad, there has been no such luck to speak of through more

than a quarter of this season.

Just when things were looking positive for backup quarterback Tony

Krikorian, a second-quarter injury sidelined the junior the rest of

the game and the Mustangs fell to host Laguna Beach, 31-9, Friday in

a nonleague contest.

Filling in for senior quarterback Ryan French, who separated his

shoulder in the first game of the season, Krikorian left just before

half with what Johnson said was a possible fibula fracture.

The injury was no help to the Mustangs (0-4), who dropped their

fourth straight game.

“It’s really tough when people are going down,” Johnson said. “And

the kids from last year who went on a losing streak -- it’s hard to

keep the motivation going with them.”

Krikorian, who moved from wide receiver to take over the QB

position, marched the Mustangs to a 7-0 lead early in the first

quarter, breaking loose on a 57-yard scamper to the 1-yard line on

the third play from scrimmage before punching it in on the next play.

He finished the majority of the half with 8 rushes for 86 yards

and the TD while making the Mustangs’ ground attack look menacing.

Krikorian also completed 2 passes for 21 yards before exiting the

game.

Johnson said Krikorian’s status will be known for sure by Monday.

“We’ve lost about six kids for the season,” Johnson said. “So,

that hurts. Trying to find a positive when your best players are hurt

is tough. The only big thing I saw is that the kids never quit.”

The Mustangs didn’t quit, but Laguna Beach (3-0-1) responded

resoundingly after Krikorian led the team to the quick, early lead.

The Breakers fired back with 31 unanswered points before Costa

Mesa was able to force a safety in the waning minutes of the game.

Laguna Beach quarterback Charley Bowman tossed a touchdown to

receiver Garrett Preston with 4:24 remaining in the first quarter to

spark the Breakers’ scoring spree. Bowman finished completing 13 of

22 for 142 yards, two TDs and an interception.

Junior wide receiver and defensive back Cody Waldron, who had the

pick on Bowman, replaced Krikorian at QB near the end of the first

half. Waldron had 5 carries for 8 yards and missed completing through

the air.

“We just have to keep their spirits up and get them ready for the

Battle for the Bell [against Estancia Sept. 30],” Johnson said.

French, who was injured against Brea Olinda in the season opener,

is projected to be back against Estancia, Johnson said.

French was a second-team All-Golden West League performer last

season for the Mustangs, throwing for 1,000 yards and seven TDs. He

completed 67 of 171 with 10 interceptions.

Costa Mesa has yet to realize the full benefit of French this

season.

“French has finally got a release from the doctor to practice,”

Johnson said. “Game situations -- it depends on him, whether he feels

like he can go. So, there may be a possibility he’s back this week.”

Krikorian has filled in since French’s departure and has keyed the

Mustangs’ offensive success throughout the remaining games.

“It’s hard to keep the kids motivated, but we’ll see what we can

do next week,” Johnson said.

Sophomore tailback Cody De La Mater rushed 11 times for 47 yards

against Laguna Beach, including a 30-yarder in the second half.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

*--*

Costa Mesa 7 0 0 2 - 9

Laguna Beach 14 3 7 7 - 31

*--*

FIRST QUARTER

CM -- Krikorian 1 run (Bagwell kick), 8:24.

LB -- Preston 15 pass from Bowman (Smith kick), 4:24.

LB -- Bowman 39 run (Smith kick), 0:00.

SECOND QUARTER

LB -- LeBon 42 FG, 0:00.

THIRD QUARTER

LB -- Stevens 4 run (Smith kick), 6:05.

FOURTH QUARTER

LB -- Thomas 17 pass from Bowman (Smith kick), 11:08.

CM -- Safety, sack in end zone, 2:26.

A -- 500(est.)

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

CM -- Krikorian, 8-86, 1 TD; De La Mater, 11-47; Waldron, 5-8;

Huk, 9-7; Esteen, 3-1.

LB -- Chheng, 8-59; Bowman, 7-42, 1 TD; Stevens, 7-31, 1 TD;

Thomas, 1-15; Preston, 1-0.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

CM -- Krikorian, 2-4-0, 21; Waldron, 0-8-0.

LB -- Bowman, 13-22-1, 142, 2 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

CM -- De La Mater, 1-23; Huk, 1-minus-2.

LB -- Preston, 6-62, 1 TD; Hilburn, 3-39; Chheng, 2-19; Thomas,

1-17, 1 TD; Kelly, 1-5.

GAME STATISTICS

*--*

CM LB

First downs 5 13

Rushes-yardage 36-149 24-147

Passing yardage 21 142

Passing 2-12-0 13-22-1

Net return yards* 51 36

Sacks-yardage 2-4 2-5

Net yardage 221 325

Punts 7-32.7 3-40.6

Fumbles-fumbles lost 1-1 3-1

Flags-net yardage 6-45 4-25

Time of possession 26:25 21:35

*Punt returns, interceptions, fumble returns

*--*