Passed history

Barry Faulkner

For roughly a decade, the only thing West Coast about the Costa

Mesa High football program has been its geographic location.

So, while Patrick Hulliger’s 12 completions Thursday night in a 48-23

season-opening nonleague triumph over Saddleback didn’t exactly stir the

BYU recruiters, they did represent a significant aerial watershed in

recent Mustang history.

They were, in fact, the most completed passes the Mustangs have

managed in a single contest since the seventh week of the 1990 season.

Between Ryan McEvoy’s 13-for-21 outing that distant fall evening

against Century (a 21-6 Mesa victory) and Hulliger’s heroics in the first

game of the new millennium (12 of 22 for 127 yards and a touchdown), the

Mustangs played 104 games. Mesa went 10 games during that run without

completing a single pass.

Hulliger, then a stout second grader, was probably barely starting to

recognize the organized patterns of football players on his television

screen the last time Mustang signal callers defied Woody Hayes so openly.

(You remember Woody, the old Ohio State cloud-of-dust curmudgeon, who

believed three things could happen when you put the ball in the air, two

of which were bad).

Mesa Coach Jerry Howell had made preseason promises of a more

productive passing game before. But competitive reality led Mesa fans to

appreciate the few spiral sightings that came when the quarterback

pitched backward to a tailback headed off tackle.

Now, hold onto your wind gauges Mustang rooters, Howell said there’s

more three-receiver sets where that came from.

“We’re going to get better throwing the ball,” said Howell, who blamed

a big lead and a respect for his opponent on keeping the passing fancy to

a minimum in the second half Thursday.

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So rampant was the flight of footballs, the cast of six different

Mustang receivers was not limited to the “skill” positions.

Senior center Scott Schepens alertly pulled down a deflection off the

hand of a Saddleback defender late in the first quarter, then managed to

shuffle his way back to the line of scrimmage to prevent a loss.

Howell assures me this is not among the new wrinkles designed to keep

defenses honest.

And, apparently, Schepens has assured his teammates he’ll remain the

same old humble trench warrior he was before he started showing up in the

statistical summary.

“(Schepens) was pretty humble about it,” Howell quipped. “But he will

probably ask our equipment man for some of those gloves the receivers

wear.”

Howell also noted Schepens’ unexpected windfall has created some

good-natured jealousy among his fellow linemen.

“(Senior tackle Charlie) Amburgey is real upset,” Howell explained.

“He wants us to put in a play where Hulliger throws a ball off a

defender, so it goes right to him.”

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The Newport Harbor High football boosters have launched a unique

fund-raiser this fall with the creation of school-themed aloha shirts.

Football parent Heidi Dobrott designed the navy blue shirts, which

feature images of the campus’ trademark tower, the school’s anchor logo,

the scoreboard at the end of last year’s CIF Southern Section Division VI

championship game victory over Irvine, the Balboa Pavilion, a surfer,

sailboats and decorative tropical flowers.

While the football program will receive the proceeds, the only

football image on the shirts is the title-game scoreboard.

Sailor boosters, as well as several local retailers are selling the

shirts for $45. Among the retailers: Nordstrom South Coast Plaza, Gary’s

Island, Kayaks, Weekend Traffic, Surfside Sports and Hobie Sports.

They’re selling faster than expected and Harbor boosters report “when

they’re gone, they’re gone.”

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Opening ceremonies for the Sydney Olympic Games are Friday, which

gives Newport Harbor junior backstroker Aaron Peirsol plenty of time to

enjoy one of his favorite features of the Olympic Village.

Peirsol reported home recently he was awed by the coin-free vending

machines, which dispense products, such as sports drinks, at the push of

a button.