CIF Playoff Picture

Costa Mesa Coach Jeremy Osso has wry memories of the last time the Mustangs were in the playoffs.

It was 2002, and Osso was the team’s offensive coordinator.

The Mustangs were playing Gabrielino, which won on a last-second field goal after advancing on a pass-interference call on the Mustangs.

“I remember it vividly,” Osso said Sunday after spending the day studying film of Pacifica (7-2), the Mustangs’ (2-8) current post-season foe. “There’s some bad memories for us as a staff. I’ll show you tape. It wasn’t pass interference. It was pass interference on them.”

He said he’s not bitter.

Still, there are lessons from those playoffs that Osso is taking into these playoffs.

“You try to come up with a couple wrinkles you haven’t shown, try to change things up a bit,” Osso said. “But you still stay true to yourself. I learned in ’02 to take chances because I was very conservative. It was an eye-opener for me because I was so conservative. There is no tomorrow. It’s all laid on the line. It’s win or you’re done.”

The Mariners finished the season in a three-way tie for first place in the Empire League, and received the No. 2 seed as a result of a coin flip.

“Never has so much as this season has a coin flip meant so much to this many people,” said Osso, referring to the Southern California wildfires that affected the Orange County football schedules. “They’re athletic. They’ve got some big guys in the right spots, and they’re extremely fast.”

Costa Mesa shares the Orange Coast League title with Estancia, which had a chance to win it outright, but failed when it lost to Laguna Beach, 17-13. Costa Mesa’s 8-0 win over Calvary Chapel gave the Mustangs a share of the title after a tumultuous season that began with a seven-game losing streak.

It’s Costa Mesa’s fifth title, which the Mustangs have always shared except for one outright title in 2002. Friday’s winner will face Western or Los Amigos.

SORAYA NADIA McDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or at [email protected].