Sandor Kopitz
Staff Writer
After coming off a tough opening night loss to Loyola at home, the Mira Costa Mustangs fell to the Serra Cavaliers Thursday night at El Camino Community College, 35-13.
The first half started slowly. Late in the first quarter, Serra’s running back Shaquille Richard scored a touchdown to put Serra on top, 7-0. Costa’s defense struggled in the first quarter, but, as the second quarter began, the Mustangs started to improve their defense. The quarter opened with senior linebacker Noah Rossi sacking the quarterback for a loss of 12 yards.
“I think that our team as a whole has grown since Loyola, but what needs to happen is that we need the unity that last year’s varsity team had. When we achieve that, we will be a good ball club,” said Rossi.
Costa looks to get its first win of the season as it plays Narbonne on Friday at 7 p.m. at Narbonne.
“To prepare for Narbonne we’re going to be working toward improving our O-line. Once we work out a few kinks, our offense will come together and I believe we will have a championship team on our hands,” said senior lineman Jimmy Lee.
Defense was scarce against Serra and wasn’t thorough throughout the game. However, impressive achievements include J.R. Tavai’s 8-yard sack in the second quarter and Andra Windom’s sack.
Costa had a few lucky breaks in this game. Midway through the second quarter Serra looked to have scored a long 55-yard touchdown, but the play was subsequently called back due to a holding call. Serra then attempted a field goal that was about 34 yards out, but a bad snap resulted in the holder trying to run the ball before turning it over as time expired. Costa ended the half losing 7-0.
“I am anticipating that a lot of things are going to improve. We had a really hard time running the ball. Our quarterback (Dennis Falcone) got knocked around a lot. It was his first varsity game, and that experience alone will be invaluable. He really hung in there in the pocket and showed a lot of poise,” said Mustangs coach Don Morrow.
Costa started off the second half forcing Serra to punt, getting the ball in great field position at Serra’s 40 yard line after a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by Serra. Soon after, quarterback Dennis Falcone threw a long interception down the left sideline, and Serra quickly regained possession.
A few plays later Serra’s quarterback, Conner Preston, threw a 91-yard pass to the Costa 1-yard line. Preston ran the ball in himself for the touchdown the very next play, making the score 14-0. Later in the third quarter, Serra scored another long 64-yard touchdown to senior wide receiver Marquise Lee.
“We went into a fight knowing we were going to be tested physically and mentally by a great team. We rose to the occasion and gave it our all. There was improvement on our offense and our defense dominated as usual. Although we lost I think we learned a lot and know what we need to work on. What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger,” said Lee.
Costa’s offense appeared late in the third quarter. Christian Rogers started a 19-yard drive, and the drive was capped off with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Falcone to Tavai, who was wide open on the left side of the field. The extra point was blocked, and Costa inched closer, 21-6.
These opportunities were not frequent for Costa. They had the momentum to drive down field, but Serra was able to make big plays.
“In the future we will have to figure out a way to match up better against a speedy team. All the preseason games are just getting us prepared for the leagues games. For us to get experience playing against Serra is invaluable,” said Morrow.
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