Brian Kaiserman
Sports Editor
Despite facing an 18 point second half deficit, the Mustangs rallied back to take the lead late in the fourth quarter, but their comeback hopes were dashed after senior quarterback Jack Alexander marched Redondo Union down the field for a game winning touchdown.
With a playoff berth and a second place Bay League finish on the line, Mira Costa took on the Redondo Union Seahawks at Waller Stadium in what proved to be a thrilling battle of the beach. Ultimately the Seahawks prevailed, defeating the Mustangs 27-23.
“They have a good athlete at quarterback and he made some big plays for them on their last drive,” coach Chuck Arrasmith said. “[The game] could’ve easily gone the other way and you just have to be really proud of the team for continuing to play hard.”
After receiving the opening kickoff, Redondo drove down the field and opened the scoring with a field goal. Later in the quarter, the Mustangs answered with a safety. Both defenses shined early and at the end of the first quarter the Seahawks held a slim 3-2 lead.
“The offensive line had a difficult time figuring out its blocks in the first half,” senior offensive lineman Robert Fiene said.
The second quarter featured more offensive struggles for both teams, until the Seahawks managed to penetrate the Mustang defense with a rushing touchdown. The Mustangs would make it into the red zone on their next drive, but came up short on fourth down leading to a SeaHawks 10-2 lead at the half.
“We struggled running the ball in the first half,” junior quarterback Nick Carpino said. “Once we started spreading the ball out, we started running the ball a lot more effectively.”
The Seahawks appeared to put the game out of reach early in the third quarter, as they quickly poured on another ten points to lead 20-2. However, the Mustangs quickly regained momentum to end the third quarter with back to back rushing touchdowns from senior Vashon Hill and junior Malachi McMahon, reducing the Seahawk lead to a narrow 20-16 margin.
“The biggest thing for our kids tonight was that they believed in themselves, stuck to it, and they fought until the very end of the game,” coach Arrasmith said.
In the final quarter of the game, Carpino led the Mustangs on an offensive drive which was capped off with a touchdown from Jonah Tavai. The Mustangs first lead of the game was short-lived however, as the Seahawks stormed back behind the arm of Jack Alexander, taking a 27-23 lead with only two minutes to go. The Mustangs nearly completed a game winning drive, but a late interception sealed the win for Redondo.
“If we are fortunate enough to make the playoffs we are going to try and go out and play hard the way we did tonight,” coach Arrasmith said. “If we play just a little more consistent anything could happen.”
The Mira Costa football team’s record now falls to 4-6 overall after the loss and 3-2 in Bay League. The Mustangs will find out on Sunday, Nov. 5 if their season will continue with a berth into the California Interscholastic playoffs.
“Overall it was a super fun season and the team really came together and bonded over the course of the year,” Carpino said. “We didn’t finish with the record we would have liked, but we are just a few minor adjustments away from improving a ton.”
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