Two-minute drill

Jeremy Osso continues to enjoy his most successful year record-wise at Costa Mesa High.

The fourth-year coach guided the Mustangs to a 31-7 victory against Calvary Chapel Friday night, as the team clinched a CIF Southern Section Southern Division playoff berth and inched closer to its third straight Orange Coast League title.

The Mustangs (6-3, 3-0 in league), ranked No. 8 in the Southern Division, have won eight straight league games dating back to 2007. Costa Mesa is on a bye next week and then closes out league play at Laguna Beach (2-0 in league) on Nov. 13.

The game might turn out to be for the league championship again. Last year, the Mustangs capped an undefeated league season with a 38-30 victory against the visiting Breakers.

The six overall victories are the most for Costa Mesa since 2002. Maybe this is the year Costa Mesa wins a playoff game, something it last accomplished 12 years ago.

“Too far down the road,” Osso said of the playoffs. “That’s all about seeding. That’s all about who you get in the playoffs, and if it’s a favorable matchup. We’d like to play [the first-round game] at home. That’s for sure.”

 One issue the Mustangs need to correct before trying to go undefeated in league in back-to-back seasons involves the color yellow.

“There was a lot of penalties,” Osso said. “I know how [Oakland Raiders coach] Tom Cable feels. Give me a coach I can punch.”

Osso, of course, was joking about hitting one of his assistants.

Josh Erno bailed out Costa Mesa after a penalty put the offense in a third-and-long situation on its first possession of the second half.

A personal foul on the Mustangs moved the team back to the opponent’s 30. On third-and-20, Erno scored on a 30-yard touchdown run after Todd Davis threw a lateral pass.

 Sage Hill School junior captain Taylor Ross leads his team in special teams by handling kickoffs, field goals and conversions, but he wanted to contribute on offense with the ball in his hands.

He has played with a cast on his arm for the majority of the season, however, which prevented him from handling the ball.

Against Brethren Christian Friday, Ross finally got to use his hands and feet fully as he rushed for 134 yards on 16 carries.

“He’s been telling me all year, ‘Coach, give me the ball, give me the ball, give me the ball,’ ” Sage Hill Coach J.R. Tolver said. “Tonight he proved why he is our premier back.”

Tolver said the game plan coming into Friday was to have Ross play receiver. But as the game became what he called a “smashmouth, I’m going to line up my 11 against your 11 and we’re going to see who is tougher and stronger” type of game, Ross became Sage’s No. 1 running back instead.

“From the very first play, we knew Taylor Ross was ready to play,” Tolver said. “As we saw how the game was turning [into a rushing battle], we needed the ball in his hands as much as possible.”

 For a shot at the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division playoffs, Newport Harbor most likely has to win its final two regular-season games.

The road to the postseason looks promising, even though the Sailors lost to No. 6-ranked Fountain Valley, 37-32, Thursday, dropping their second straight Sunset League game at home.

Newport Harbor, Esperanza and Los Alamitos are tied for third place at 1-2 in league, behind co-leaders Edison and Fountain Valley, both 3-0.

Newport Harbor (4-4 overall) plays Marina (1-7, 0-3) Friday at Westminster High and closes league play against Esperanza at Valencia High the following week.

Each of the three teams are struggling. Newport Harbor has the biggest victory of the trio, beating Los Alamitos, 23-20, in the league opener.

The Vikings have dropped 24 straight league games. Marina’s last league victory was on Nov. 5, 2004 against Huntington Beach, which left the league after the 2005 season.

The Aztecs’ lone victory in league this year came against Marina, a 52-27 rout last week.

 Corona del Mar High’s 17-6 loss to visiting Pacific Coast League rival University Friday at Newport Harbor in all likelihood ruined the CIF Southern Section playoff hopes for the Sea Kings (4-4, 0-3 in league). This fact clearly resonated with senior J.D. Abbott, who was forced by an ankle injury to watch those three league losses from the sideline.

Abbott, one of the team’s captains, was crying in the late stages of Friday’s loss, and appeared inconsolable, though senior teammate and fellow captain Alex Swigert certainly tried.

“Keep your head up,” Swigert told Abbott as he came off the field following a late defensive series.

“I know there is nothing you can do and that’s the worst feeling in the world,” Swigert said to his friend and teammate. “I love you buddy.”

 It was senior night for CdM Friday and Coach Jason Hitchens took the opportunity to provide one senior a special treat.

Quinn Burdett, the team manager who has handled those duties for four seasons, was allowed to dress for the only time in his tenure with the Sea Kings.

Burdett, for whom medical issues have prevented him from competing, wore jersey No. 18.

“I guess that was one positive from tonight, anyway,” Hitchens said after the Sea Kings’ loss, which dropped them out of the Southern Division top-10 poll.

 Davis continues to be accurate for Costa Mesa.

The senior completed 22 of 30 passes for 193 yards and one touchdown against Calvary Chapel. In his past two games, Davis has completed 68% of his passes for 494 yards and six touchdowns, with zero interceptions.

 Tolver asked about the grade of Brethren Christian’s Ryan Randall running back and defensive back, who rushed for 212 yards on 40 carries and had one interception.

When informed Randall is a senior, he said, “Thank you.”

 Another bright spot for CdM is the play of its junior varsity program this season. The unit made up of future varsity performers improved to 7-0-1 with a 30-0 win Friday over University.

The tie came against Laguna Hills, which scored a touchdown after recovering an errant punt snap inside the Sea Kings’ five-yard line.

 Newport Harbor played without UC Berkeley-bound standout Cecil Whiteside for the first time this season.

Coach Jeff Brinkley said the senior is out with a right elbow injury and is unsure when Whiteside will return. After last week’s loss to undefeated Fountain Valley, Brinkley didn’t want to discuss the status of Whiteside, who starts at inside linebacker, wide receiver and returns kickoffs.

“Let’s talk about the guys that were here,” Brinkley said.

Quarterback Austin Rios said he had no idea if Whiteside will come back this year. In seven games, Whiteside has 21 catches for 256 yards and three touchdowns.

Rios’ favorite target last week was Parker Norton, who leads the team with 28 receptions and five touchdowns. The two juniors hooked up seven times for 66 yards and in the fourth quarter on a five-yard touchdown.

“The loss of Cecil didn’t really affect us on the offensive side of the ball,” said Rios, who completed 14 of 26 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns.

“It put a little dent in our run, but when you have guys hurt, you’ve got to have other guys step up. [Austin] Turner did a good job [taking over at linebacker for Whiteside]. On offense, we had [Kellon] Truxton [playing receiver for Whiteside], who played great.”

 The absence of senior tailback Alex Abalos (ankle injury) affected the lineup on offense and defense for Estancia. Senior Sean Davis (118 yards on 20 carries) and sophomore Alex Trancoso (63 yards on 13 attempts) filled in admirably for Abalos on offense.

Hoping to save Davis’ energy for offense, he did not play at his usual inside linebacker spot. But the play of junior Andrew Tenno (a forced fumble, a near-interception and a tackle for loss) helped mitigate the lack of Davis on defense.

 The bye week that preceded the Godinez game gave Estancia a chance to shore up some recent kicking woes. Senior Jeff Kirchberg stepped in to handle both conversion kicks, booting both through the uprights.

“We have competition, week to week,” Bargas said. “We’re always a work in progress.”

— From staff reports