Mesa loss ‘four’-boding

GARDEN GROVE — Two football teams who refused to take fourth down for an answer battled mightily in a nonleague game Friday night at Bolsa Grande High.

Costa Mesa High refused to punt on fourth down on four occasions, including a pair of fake punts, the first on fourth-and-seven from its own 31-yard line midway through the first quarter.

Bolsa Grande went for it on fourth down five times, all in the second half, including a pair of touchdowns that helped the Matadors (2-1) earn a 22-8 win.

Bolsa, which failed on fourth-and-six at the Costa Mesa 29 on its first possession of the second half, converted two of its final four fourth-down gambles. The first came at its own 46, when backup quarterback Garrett Loughmiller, lined up as the upback in punt formation, took a short snap and hit Xavier Mitchell on a slant. Miller, with just one step on a Costa Mesa defender, caught the ball in stride and sprinted to the end zone for a 54-yard score that broke a 6-6 tie.

Ryan Lolin followed with a two-point conversion run and the Matadors had the Mustangs on the run.

After the two teams exchanged unsuccessful fourth-down attempts — Costa Mesa’s a dropped pass that would have put the visitors inside the Matadors’ 20-yard line; and Bolsa’s a stuffed dive on fourth-and-two at the Costa Mesa 42 — Bolsa cashed in an interception for the clinching touchdown.

The interception, returned 39 yards by Minh Pham to the Mustangs’ 11-yard line, paid off four plays later, when Devin Boland powered into the end zone on fourth-and-two from the three.

Lolin’s second two-point run finalized the scoring with 4:28 left, dropping the Mustangs to 0-4 for the second time in three seasons.

Bolsa Grande, which was 3-77 over an eight-season span before posting a 4-6 mark last season, earned its second win over a Costa Mesa school this season. Coach Jim Lamb’s Matadors topped visiting Estancia, 13-6, on Sept. 6.

This was the Matadors’ first win over the Mustangs since 1984, a span of five games.

While coming up short, Coach Jeremy Osso’s unit showed some progress.

A 26-yard touchdown pass from Brian Waldron to John Salyer on the final play of the first quarter was the Mustangs’ first score since the season opener.

Waldron threw for 78 yards, despite being hampered by three would-be completions dropped by receivers.

The Mustangs, missing explosive junior tailback Antwon Bird for the second straight game due to a hip flexor strain, managed 121 rushing yards, including 65 on 24 carries by junior Robbie Gemayel.

Osso also saw improvement defensively, including an interception by junior cornerback Manny Gomez, a sack by blitzing strong safety Salyer and 14 other tackles for zero or no gain.

Jason Schroeder, Eddie Rodriguez, who recovered a fumble, Tamas Gyorfi and Nick Pederson were additional defensive standouts for Costa Mesa.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at [email protected].

FIRST QUARTER

BG – Lolin 13 run (kick blocked), 8:52.

CM – Salyer 26 pass from Waldron (run failed), 0:00.

THIRD QUARTER

BG – Mitchell 54 pass from Loughmiller (Lolin run), 2:11.

FOURTH QUARTER

BG – Boland 3 run (Lolin run), 4:28.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

CM – Gemayel, 24-65; De La Mater, 8-33; Waldron, 3-23.

BG – Mitchell, 15-133; Lolin, 8-65, 1 TD; Meza, 4-28; Boland, 6-16, 1 TD; J. Nguyen, 9-14; Segovia, 3-minus-18; Team, 1-minus-1.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

CM – Waldron, 4-14-1,78, 1 TD; Solis, 1-1-0, 4.

BG – Segovia, 1-6-1, 8; Loughmiller, 1-1-0, 54, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

CM –Salyer, 3-49, 1 TD; R. Hernandez, 2-33.

BG – Mitchell, 1-54, 1 TD; Lolin, 1-8.