By Regan Estes
Sports Editor
After a disappointing first Bay League loss in the Homecoming game, the Mira Costa football team faced Peninsula High School on Oct. 28.
The Mustangs shrugged off the Homecoming loss and took on Peninsula full force, earning a one-sided 31-8 victory. The win over the Panthers improves the Mustangs’ record to 2-1 in Bay League and 3-5 for the season.
Senior running back Brandon Edmond continued his successful season with two touchdowns in the second half to subdue the Panthers’ defense.
“We’ve made a lot of progress,” senior quarterback Chase Caprio said. “Everything is coming together, and we’re finally becoming the team we want to be.”
The defense performed well by forcing three turnovers in the game and gave the offense good field position to compliment the explosive rushing game. Senior defensive back Quincy Brown forced two turnovers that resulted in touchdowns.
“Our defense played extremely well throughout the whole game, which helped our offense out,” coach Chuck Arrasmith said.
In the first quarter, Costa benefitted from a few Peninsula errors. After recovering a fumble, the Mustangs put the ball in the hands of junior wide receiver Raphael Lawson-Gale, who managed to rush for a touchdown. A field goal topped off Costa’s first quarter, and the Mustangs led 10-0 going into the second quarter.
Senior running back Steve Giovati pushed Costa’s score up to 17-0 after a short rush for a touchdown in the second quarter. The Panthers bounced back and managed to score a touchdown of their own toward the end of the quarter. The score at halftime was 17-8 after Peninsula scored on a two-point conversion following the touchdown.
In the third quarter, big runs and a touchdown by Edmond gave Costa a comfortable 24-8 lead. As soon as Peninsula got the ball back, senior defensive back David Davis intercepted a pass, and Edmond eventually rushed for another touchdown to make the score 31-8, and the game ended smoothly in the fourth.
“The pick in the second half by Davis really secured the game,” senior kicker Dominic Costa said. “Overall, our entire defense had a really big game for us.”
Junior quarterback Ryan Sweigart, the third starting quarterback for the Mustangs this season, won his second game for the Mustangs after throwing facilitative passes to Lawson-Gale.
“We put a lot more points on the board than we usually do,” Arrasmith said. “Sweigart and Raphael had nice games, and of course Brandon Edmond had a lot of yards.”
Edmond led the Mustangs with two touchdowns after managing 152 yards on 19 carries against the Peninsula defense.
The Mustangs face Leuzinger High School tonight in their second straight road game. Costa looks to improve their Bay League record to 3-1 with just two Bay League games left.
“Leuzinger has been having a rough season thus far, but we have to take every opponent the same,” Arrasmith said. “Every game we go out on the field expecting to win, and this one should be no different in any manner.”
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