Andrew Fasano
Staff Writer
Tommy Waller
Staff Writer
Fourth and five, Mustangs’ ball, less than two minutes to play, Costa trailed El Segundo by four.
The Mustangs suffered their second consecutive loss at Waller Stadium Friday night to El Segundo High School, 18-14, despite defensive efforts from senior outside linebacker Jordan Fischer.
“We really needed to execute more of our blitzes and add more pass rush to the quarterback,” Fischer said. “For the most part, we did a solid job on defense despite some small errors.”
Photo: Sophomore quarterback Reed Vabrey rolls out of the pocket in the looks of finding an open receiver in the end zone. The Mustangs went on to lose at home in a last second play.
The Mustangs were able to convert their first drive with an early score coming from a 69-yard touchdown pass from quarterback David Arredondo to senior wide receiver Casey Bonner. According to coach Don Morrow, the team did a good job of staying focused during the game.
“I thought we competed well today,” Morrow said. “I think El Segundo is a very good team.”
Maxpreps: Mira Costa’s remaining schedule and record.
Early in the second quarter, the Mustangs lost Arredondo to an ACL and MCL tear, leaving sophomore Reed Vabrey to step up in his first varsity game. Arredondo is now unable to play the remaining games of the season.
“I planted my right foot, and it got caught in the turf,” Arredondo said. “I heard a pop and knew something was wrong right away. I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that I can’t play. Football means so much to me. I’m going to miss my brothers.”
Down by four late in the fourth quarter, the Mustangs intercepted an El Segundo pass in an attempt to jump-start its offense. Junior middle linebacker Cody Kallenbach said that the defensive series was a real representation of how the defense played the whole game.
Hudl: Video footage of the Mustang’s season.
“I think overall the defense played well tonight,” Kallenbach said. “There are a few kinks that we need to work on before the next game, such as tackling.”
Costa was able to keep the score close for the remainder of the game. However, a final offensive push by the Mustangs was not enough to break the Eagles strong red zone defense.
“We didn’t make the plays that we needed to in order to win,” coach Cameron Chow said. “We are going to have to learn from our mistakes to prepare for next week.”
The Mustangs lost more than just a game. With Arredondo’s serious knee injury, the team will be forced to play without a key player and leader of the team.
“Losing Arredondo was very devastating,” Morrow said. “The way he leads the team and how much he has worked to be where he is now is incredible.”
The Mustangs, 1-2 overall, will play the West High School Warriors, who are 2-1, tonight at 7 p.m. in an away game following a two- game home stretch. The team is ready to bounce back from its two unfortunate losses on Friday, Chow said.
“We can still perform well in league and the other games leading up to it,” Chow said. “We have a great chance to win and regroup in order to go back to doing everything we are supposed to be doing.”
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