Football defeats West 35-7 with new quarterback

Andrew Fasano

Staff Writer

Tommy Waller

Staff Writer

The Mira Costa Mustangs routed the West High School Warriors 35-7 on the road on Friday night. Sophomore quarterback Reed Vabrey filled in for the injured senior David Arredondo, leading the Mustangs to victory.

The Mustangs scored on their first offensive play when senior Justin Goring ran for a long touchdown. According to Goring, he believes that his chemistry with his teammates is what has allowed him to succeed.

“I’m just here to service my brothers on the field so that I can make sure to go as hard as I can and hope they do the same for me,” Goring said. “As long as we keep that mentality things will fall into place from there.”

The game was Vabrey’s first official start in place of Arredondo. According to Vabrey, intensive preparation over the week was what helped the Mustangs win.

“My first start in a varsity game was an amazing experience,” Vabrey said. “We had a good week of practice and it showed in the game.”

Vabrey was able to pass for two touchdowns as well as run one in himself. After the snap, Vabrey gave a fake handoff to junior running back Vashon Hill and ran the ball into the endzone from eight yards out giving the Mustangs a padding to their lead.

“My first minutes were exciting but nerve racking,” Vabrey said. “If Arredondo’s injury is long term, we need to work together as a team to win our next games.”

The Mustangs gave up 7 points total to the West Torrance offense, with the lone touchdown coming early in the second half. According junior middle linebacker Cody Kallenbach, there were only a couple things that needed to improve.

“Overall I think that the defense played great,” Kallenbach said. “One of the things we need to work on is unnecessary penalties as puts the opponent in great positions to score.”

The Mustangs, now 2-2 overall, will play Newport Harbor High School at Waller Stadium Friday night. According to Vabrey, the team is excited for the future if they can keep the momentum they had on Friday.

“I think that our momentum is going to carry us into next week’s practice and game,” Vabrey said. “I think it will carry us because the win came at a vital point in our season.”