PREP FRIDAY: SOUTHERN SECTION FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS : Division VIII : Costa Mesa Discounts Its Record, Banks on Wishbone Attack Against Bloomington

It has been 8 years since Costa Mesa High School’s football team was in the Southern Section playoffs.

But this year, the Mustangs finished with a 3-2 league record, good enough to be the No. 3 representative in the Pacific Coast League.

However, the only Division VIII playoff team with a worse overall record than Costa Mesa’s 5-4-1 is Yucaipa, the No. 3 team from the Sunkist League at 4-5-1.

Costa Mesa Coach Tom Baldwin dispels any speculation that the Mustangs are pretenders to--rather than contenders for--the Southern Section Division VIII title.

“(Teams) look at our record, and think we aren’t any good, but they didn’t play against the competition we did,” he said. “I’m not sure we can’t go all the way.

“Three of our losses were to Estancia, Corona del Mar and Katella in the practice season, and all three of those teams are playoff teams from divisions above us.”

Costa Mesa will play tonight at 7:30 at Bloomington (9-1), the No. 2 team from the Sunkist League. It promises to be a ball-control game featuring lots of running, a fact Baldwin believes is in his favor.

“People have not hurt us all year running the football,” he said. “You have to throw to hurt us, so the teams that run don’t have as good a chance against us.”

It doesn’t hurt Costa Mesa to have a running back, Manny Bonilla, who has totaled the fourth-best rushing yardage in Orange County. Bonilla has 1,137 yards and 12 touchdowns in 130 carries.

Bonilla and Costa Mesa’s wishbone attack will present special problems, Bloomington Coach Carl Beach said.

“It will be the first time we faced a wishbone team,” Beach said. “You can’t make any mistakes against any option teams because everybody has a responsibility, and if they break down in their responsibility, you’re going to get burnt. Bonilla sneaks up in there and pops the big one.”

Tony Wright, who plays wingback and defensive back, is the team’s player of impact with 29 receptions for 476 yards and 3 touchdowns. Wright, a junior, has rushed for 642 yards and 12 touchdowns in 86 carries. He also has returned an interception for a touchdown.

Fullback Travis Robertson has gained almost 900 yards, and quarterback Sparky Gonzales has completed 66 of 155 passes for 848 yards.

In another first-round game:

Woodbridge (9-1) vs. Cabrillo (6-4) at Irvine--Woodbridge has playoff experience and the home-field advantage. Last year, it lost its last regular-season game but regrouped and won the Desert-Mountain Conference.

This year, Trabuco Hills ended Woodbridge’s 13-game winning streak, the longest in Orange County, with a 17-13 victory in the last game of the regular season.

Woodbridge’s defense is giving up less than a touchdown a game. The problem has been scoring. The Warriors are led by quarterback Fred Schweer, who has thrown for 1,700 yards, 9 touchdowns, 8 interceptions and has completed 55.9% of his passes.

Cabrillo comes from the run-dominated Los Padres League as the No. 2 team. It features three running backs who have rushed for more than 300 yards each, led by Curtis White with 536 yards and 2 touchdowns in 90 carries. Quarterback Scott Vigil has completed 85 of 170 passes for 1,310 yards and 12 touchdowns. Jason Loggins, who has 639 yards receiving, has caught 7 of Vigil’s 12 touchdown passes.

Defensively, Cabrillo is giving up an average of 170 yards a game. Zack Patterson, sophomore linebacker, leads the team with 97 tackles.