Costa Football defeated by West Torrance 35-14

Roberto Kampfner
Nick Lee
Staff Writers

In their fourth game of the year, Costa couldn’t solve the riddle of the West Torrance defense, they struggled running the ball and proceeded to get scored on constantly.

With the absence of Tre Searcy, the star running back, the team faltered like an old car engine. Costa repeatedly shoved the ball down the field, only able to get two or three yards. Costa’s defense was no match for the West Torrance offense losing 35-14. The Warrior’s offense hammered the Mustangs, scoring on their very first drive, and almost every one after that.

“The defense played really well for the most part, they got a few big plays off of breakdowns, but they turned the ball over for the offense, and this loss really falls on the offense’s plate, not the defense,” Offensive Coordinator Chuck Arrasmith said. “We didn’t score when we had the opportunities and we should, we just need to work as a team and score when we have a chance to.”

The Mustang’s offense, headed by Jacob Silvera, had 292 passing yards and only 72 rushing yards. With Searcy out with a shoulder injury, the rushing game was restricted and they were only able to produce limited amount of yards.

“It’s huge that Searcy is gone, he is our premier running back, and one of the best running backs in the area, and when you lose a guy like that, you can’t expect it to have no impact on your team. He isn’t here so we gotta do what we gotta do.” Arrasmith said.

Throughout the game, the Mustangs failed to get into rhythm and consistently produce. The offense would obtain a decent gain, then fail to convert. Mira Costa had five turnovers during the day, and the defense was constantly getting thrown back onto the field.

“I don’t think we really got going, we were kind of sporadic throughout the game, and the offense didn’t support the defense enough,” Head Coach Don Morrow said. “We have to do better than that, that’s for sure.”

With time winding down in the first half, Costa was driving and set up for a field goal which would be their first points of the game. However, the kick was blocked by the Warriors, and sent the Mustangs into the locker room empty handed.

“At the half we made a couple of quick adjustments on the way they were lining up, and we told them to get out, get the ball, and execute. Move down the field and not try to do it all at once,” Morrow said. “We did actually play better in the second half. Unfortunately, we didn’t play better all the time like we should have.”

In the third quarter, the Mustangs took control of an onside kick, and had the ball at the opposing teams 40 yard line, but failed to convert after getting three penalties at the goal line. Later in the half, the Silvera threw a 38 yard touchdown to Zach Chan and a quick shovel pass to Juwan Johnson for another touchdown narrowing the game to 28-14.

“I think our kids were very excited, and we did gain momentum, especially after the onside kick, things were going our way, but when we got to the goal line, we had a penalties and the ball kept backing up. It deflates the balloon that we just blew up, and that’s what happens,” Arrasmith said. “That was nobody else’s fault but our own.”

The loss of Searcy have a monumental impact on the game. Unfortunately, he won’t be back for another one or two weeks. His absence means that other players will need to step up at the next game.

“The loss of Searcy affects us in a big way, he’s a great player, and we need him back, but he wasn’t here, and the team needed to play without him. We have a resilient team, and we just kept fighting no matter what the score is,” Silvera said.

On Friday Oct. 3, Costa will be playing at home against Newport Harbor, who are also 1-3. The Sailor’s only win came in it’s first game against Hamilton, winning in a blowout 40-0.

“We dropped a couple of balls that we shouldn’t have dropped, and when we got down close to the goal line,we got a lot of penalties, and you just can’t play like that and not expect the other team to not beat you,” Offensive Coordinator Chuck Arrasmith said. “When you get the opportunity to score, you better score, there are no freebies in this game, we came closer, but we still have a lot of work to do.”