By Sandor Kopitz
Staff Writer
At the Homecoming football game on Oct. 8, the Mira Costa football team beat the Newport Harbor Sailors, 17-6. The defensive
brawl handed the Sailors their first loss of the season.
“It is the last tune-up before Bay League. We played good defense last week, but we had too many turnovers. The squad hasn’t really put it all together, but hopefully tonight’s the night that they will. It looks to be a good game,” coach Don Morrow said before the game.
The players felt that they were working in unison and flowing well as a whole. Both the offensive and defensive line-ups emerged victorious in the contest after gaining experience from their earlier games.
The game started slowly. The Sailors started to penetrate deep into Mustang territory. As they entered Costa’s red zone, however,
the Mustangs tightened their defense. Senior nose guard J.R. Tavai anchored the defense and had two sacks and eight tackles for losses in the game.
The first quarter ended without much action, but the second quarter supplied the previously missing excitement, beginning with senior Geoff La Pointe intercepting a pass during the first play of the quarter.
“I just dropped back in coverage, and their QB threw into my zone,” La Pointe said.
The Mustangs used the turnover to their advantage. They drove the ball down the field, and senior kicker Brendan Sofen nailed a 35-yard field goal to put Costa up, 3-0. The half concluded with the same score. Both teams went into the locker room with high hopes for the second half.
After the Homecoming festivities, the second half started slowly as well. Tension grew and the Mustangs moved down the field. Senior running back Deon Morris frequently moved the ball up and down the field. One of Morris’ long runs brought Costa to the three-yard line.
“Our game plan wasn’t to go out and do anything fancy. We just wanted to take it to them,” Morris said. “The offense did much better
than it had in previous weeks, and our running game is back. We were able to pull off a win against a tough team.”
However, Costa soon fumbled the ball. The Sailors recovered it and then repeated Costa’s error. The Mustangs pounced on it and brought the ball back into Newport’s territory.
Costa quickly struck against the Newport defense. They scored a touchdown with a quarterback sneak executed by senior Dennis Falcone. Sofen’s PAT brought the score to 10-0 with the Mustangs in the lead.
Costa’s defense increased the pressure. The team forced a quick punt, which was returned 31 yards by La Pointe, putting an end to the game.
“My return would not have been anything without my blockers. It obviously gave us an extra boost to put the game away,” La Pointe said.
The punt return led to another Costa touchdown on a run by Morris, putting Costa up 17-0 with a little over 10 minutes left. The Sailors tacked on a late touchdown, but couldn’t make a comeback. After a blocked extra point, the game ended. Costa has its first Bay League game tonight at 7 p.m. at West Torrance. The Mustangs look to go undefeated for the third straight season in Bay League.
“As for the Bay League, our team is going to keep working hard to improve. The defense has done a great job, but there are always
areas for improvement,” La Pointe said.
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