Roberto Kampfner
Nick Lee
Staff Writers
After losing the first game of the season to Notre Dame 70-34, Costa bounced back with a win over Downey Vikings, ending the game with a final score of 48-31. The game was played at Mira Costa’s Waller at 7pm last Friday.
Costa started tenaciously when Senior Tre Searcy intercepted a pass on the Vikings’ opening drive, on that returning drive Junior Justus Tavai ran a handoff in for a touchdown. Mira Costa finished the first quarter with a 21-0 lead, after a solid defensive quarter.
“I think we set the tone on defense at the beginning, Trey [Cerci] had a great play in the beginning by getting that interception and set the tone for the whole night, and we were able to use that start to get a good win” Junior Jacob Silvera said.
When the offensive line began to falter in the second half, Downey’s defense was able to get nine sacks on Jacob Silvera. While the team faced adversity, Head Coach Don Morrow called a timeout to rally his players.
“We just got with each other, and just became a family then, came out here, and we just did it.” Tavai said. “The coaches pumped us up too.”
With a great first quarter, the Mustangs went into the second quarter strong, but Costa was soon stopped by the Viking defense. The Vikings offense rallied and and went on a 23-7 run, but only to be stopped short of a comeback by the Mustangs.
“We lost a couple of our guys in the second half that make the difference and we had some kids out on the field that aren’t used to being there, so that was a factor for us. Fatigue was a little bit of a factor for us, but we did some good things at the end of the game to win it,” Offensive Coordinator Chuck Arrasmith said.
In the fourth quarter, the Mustangs began to regain control of the game when they scored back-to-back touchdowns and the third interception of the game. The team bounced back near the end of the game and turned the momentum of the game in their favor, and finished the opposition off 48-31.
“I think we have a resilient team and we played hard and got the job done, and we did a great job of executing our plays,” Silvera said.
The Mustangs forced five turnovers, three interceptions and two fumbles, and Justus Tavai ran in three touchdowns. Even though the Mustangs started the second half letting up 23 points, they were able to recover the game and keep the pressure on until the end.
“During our 21-0 run, we were keeping it going and in the second half we came back out again, started slow, but finished strong and got it done,” Tavai said.
In the last game against Notre Dame the defense struggled, giving up nine touchdowns, but the Costa defense improved against Downey only letting up 31 points and three touchdowns. The offense also showed improvement and which had previously failed to keep up with the high intensity defense of Notre Dame.
“Overall, we would judge them as playing much better this week than they did in the first game, and that’s really what we’re trying to do is improve from week to week,” Arrasmith said.
The Mustangs play today at Trabuco Hills, which have a record of 1-2. Trabuco Hills has played three out of league games, and is poised to have a good game against the Mustangs.
“We expect them to come out strong, execute their plays, and try to get as big as an advantage as possible on us,” Tavai said. “We just need to come out stronger than they are.”
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