By Michael Lebbin
Staff Writer
Mira Costa football fought hard against the Peninsula Panthers and prevailed with a win. The Mustangs maintained the lead throughout the entire game, winning 42-6 on November 25 at Peninsula High School.
In the first quarter, the Mustangs and the Panthers traded possessions until senior quarterback Greg Briskin ran for a 14 yard touchdown, giving Costa a 7-0 lead. The Mustangs later got the ball back after a Peninsula punt.
“We played very well today because we had a lot of intensity,” junior offensive and defensive lineman Michael Hollidaysaid. “We kept pushing on offense and defense and we never let up.”
During the second quarter the Mustangs started to pull away from Peninsula. Senior wide receiver Harrison Morrow caught a 19 yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second quarter, making the score 14-0.
“The entire team contributed to our team’s victory over Peninsula,” sophomore quarterback Jacob Silvera said. “We played as hard as we could and we won the game as a team.”
In the second quarter, senior defensive lineman Jahlani Tavai recovered a fumble which eventually lead to a nine yard touchdown run by senior running back Sebastian Franck-Love. Later in the second quarter, Franck-Love scored a two yard touchdown run, giving the Mustangs a 28-0 advantage.
“We pulled together today and played with intensity and had a great game,” Holliday said. “We played hard and fought and the scoreboard tells the whole story.”
After the kickoff, Peninsula senior quarterback Ian Escutia threw an interception to junior linebacker Dane Largent, which led to a four yard touchdown run by senior running back Brandon Mills. On the kickoff, the Panthers returned the kick for a touchdown but missed the extra point, making it 35-6.
“We scored a lot of touchdowns today and they were all great plays,” Silvera said. “We had good play calls that lead us to our touchdowns.”
In the third quarter, Mills scored on a ten yard run with seven minutes left. Later, Silvera threw a interception, but the Panthers could not convert, giving the Mustangs the ball to start the fourth quarter.
“We needed to keep the intensity up throughout the entire game and not get overconfident while we had a big lead,” Holliday said.
In the fourth quarter, the Panthers could not convert on their possessions because the Mustangs’ defensive game was too much to handle. No points were scored in the fourth quarter, and the score remained 42-6.
“We can continue to play like this,” Silvera said. “We have a lot of great players and we just need to continue to play with intensity and we will win.”
The Mustangs have another away game on November 1 against Leuzinger High School at 7 p.m.
“We feel like we should not take Leuzinger lightly but we should not worry too much about their game plan,” Silvera said. “We only have to worry about our game and we will do fine.”
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