Freshman football: Mustangs want it more

Steve Virgen

COSTA MESA - Bryce Carich, Bryce McKendry, Jorge Quiroz, Geo Macias

and Jeff Waldron are some of today’s ironmen and the future of the Costa

Mesa and Estancia high school football programs. The Costa Mesa freshman

football team’s Carich, Quiroz and Waldron displayed relentless intensity

and led the host Mustangs to a 28-20 Pacific Coast League victory over

crosstown rival Estancia Thursday.

With the scored tied, 14-14, at halftime, Carich delivered a simple

statement before the Mustangs received the kickoff.

“This is our house and we don’t let them win,” Carich told his

teammates. And with that, Mesa outscored the Eagles, 14-6, in the second

half. But it didn’t come easily.

The Mustangs (2-6, 2-1 in the PCL) fumbled on their first possession

of the second half. However, Waldron came to the rescue.

On Estancia’s first offensive play after the turnover, Waldron came up

with a clutch interception. The Eagles (0-8, 0-3) appeared to be setting

up a screen pass, but Waldron came through, tipped the ball straight up

and caught it.

Waldron later punched in a 2-yard touchdown run to cap a 39-yard drive

in which he accounted for 16. Quiroz ran in his second two-point

conversion and the Mustangs were out in front, 22-14.

“Our team just wanted it more,” said Waldron, who gained 57 yards on

10 carries and added a fumble recovery to his interception. Both

turnovers resulted in Mesa touchdowns. “This game was important for our

school and we just wanted it more.”

Quiroz showed plenty of desire. He rushed for a game-high 191 yards

and three touchdowns on 25 carries, while battling a tight hamstring and

a calf injury. He suffered a right-calf injury in the third quarter, but

after Waldron’s fumble recovery in the fourth, Quiroz came back.

He darted for an 8-yard gain to Estancia’s 21-yard line, pulling his

right hamstring on the play. As he hobbled, he tried to sneak back into

the huddle, but Mesa Coach John Carney substituted him out for a brief

rest.

Waldron and Jamison Morris took over and led the Mustangs to

Estancia’s 7-yard line. And with fourth-and-three, Mesa quarterback

Joseph Ortiz used a hard snap count to draw the Eagles offsides.

Two plays later, Quiroz put the game on ice with his 1-yard touchdown.

“He has lots of courage,” Carney said of the freshman running back.

“Carich, Waldron and Quiroz showed tremendous leadership today.’

Carney was also impressed with Mesa’s rushing attack. The Mustangs

attempted just one pass, just before halftime, when Ortiz connected with

Waldron for a 37-yard gain. The rest of the time, Mesa used Quiroz,

Morris and Waldron to plow through the Eagles as linemen Carich, Chris

Channing, Rodrigo Gutierrez, Andrew Sanford, Rudy Garcia and Dwayne Wase

cleared the way for 272 rushing yards.

“We got worn down a little bit in the second half,” Estancia Coach

John Liebengood said. “We were able to come away with some turnovers, but

(Mesa) capitalized on our turnovers. It was a good game. It’s a rivalry

and (Estancia) got up for it. We wanted to win.”

The Eagles caused six Mesa fumbles and recovered four. They also

answered an 8-0 deficit quickly with 14 points in less than five minutes.

After Quiroz scored on an 11-yard run and added the two-point

conversion, Estancia quarterback Nick Cox and receiver Carlos Pinto

immediately responded. On the first play after a short return of Mesa’s

pooch kickoff, the Eagles hooked up for a 43-yard touchdown, as Pinto

grabbed a quick slant pass and outran defenders to the end zone.

Mike Courtney then recovered a Mesa fumble on the ensuing kickoff and

McKendry came up big for the Eagles. On fourth-and-10 from the Mustang

20, McKendry broke away for a touchdown run.

Macias, who kicked two PATs, recovered a fumble, as did David Moreno.

The Cox-to-Pinto connection came through in the fourth quarter for an

18-yard touchdown to close out the scoring.