DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK:

No current football player knew of the hole Costa Mesa High found itself in immediately after last Friday night.

Brian Waldron learned of it before everyone else.

The hole ran deeper than the huge one the rest of the Mustangs would see on the practice field for the first time Monday.

A couple of days before the Mustangs played for the Orange Coast League championship, Waldron understood the team would lose teammates after that Friday night game.

Come Monday, four key players no longer belonged on the team due to academic issues.

“One of the coaches brought me aside and he just wanted to let me know,” Waldron said. “I knew it was going to affect the team.

“I knew I had to step up and take the leadership [role] of the team.”

When it mattered most, Waldron elevated his play late against Laguna Beach.

This is the same junior who lost out on the starting quarterback job after starting at quarterback last season.

He never complained. He knew his chance would come.

When it did, Waldron pulled off a John Elway-esque comeback.

Waldron used his legs, scoring twice in the fourth quarter to lead the Mustangs to a 38-30, come-from-behind victory, claiming the program’s first outright league crown since 2002.

The Mustangs rushed the field to celebrate after rallying from 22 points down to repeat as league champs.

Was this possible?

It was real, proving the doubters wrong. There were plenty of them from outside and inside the team.

A 0-5 start to the season can break a team.

Waldron never allowed Costa Mesa to snap.

Waldron said he’s going to do his best so the team’s latest setback doesn’t hurt Costa Mesa (5-5) in tonight’s CIF Southern Section Southern Division first-round playoff game against Santiago (8-2) at Estancia High at 7:30.

At the start of the week, it wasn’t easy staying positive.

Coach Jeremy Osso delivered the bad news to the entire team after winning the league title. He told them four players were ruled academically ineligible and are out for the remainder of the season.

“We were kind of like, ‘Oh, oh!’ ” Waldron said. “We’re missing our starting quarterback, [one of] our starting [cornerbacks], and then our first- and second-string [outside linebackers]. We were kind of down, but then we thought about it. We have enough talent to fill those spots.

“It’s going to be a little difficult, a little more reps for other people, a little tiring [for players] on the field, but you just got to work through it.”

Waldron has pushed through obstacles the entire season. He’s done whatever it takes to assist the team even if it meant not starting at quarterback in the beginning.

Waldron has started at safety, middle linebacker, wide receiver, running back, quarterback and punter. Basically, wherever Osso needed him.

During a game, there really isn’t any time Waldron can take a break.

He learned how to compete from watching three of his older brothers, Tyler, Jeff and Cody, play for Costa Mesa.

As Waldron put it, he’s had Costa Mesa football in his blood since he was a little boy.

Out of the four Waldrons, Osso said Brian is by far the best athlete. Osso would know.

Osso was as an assistant coach at Costa Mesa when he saw Tyler and Jeff play. Tyler, a 2003 graduate, earned Newport-Mesa Dream Team honors as a 6-foot-2, 180-pound senior safety. Jeff, a 2003 graduate, earned Dream Team honors as a 6-3, 215-pound senior tight end.

Cody started at quarterback in Osso’s first year as the head coach in 2006. Cody, a three-sport athlete, was named Costa Mesa High’s Male Athlete of the Year in 2007, the year he graduated.

“His brothers will give him [a hard time] for [me calling him the best Waldron],” said Osso because Brian’s brothers are bigger and taller. “Brian’s the smallest, but we’re hoping he grows next year.”

Don’t let Waldron’s 5-9, 155-pound frame fool you.

Waldron exudes confidence. It has rubbed off on the rest of the Mustangs, sparking Mesa’s second-half surge in which it has won five straight games.

“I’m a little nervous, but I think I can do the job,” said junior Luis Gomez, who is starting at cornerback for one of the ineligible players. “I always feel safe wherever Waldron is at.”

Manny Gomez feels the same way about Waldron, who has started two games at quarterback and has filled in during other games when Todd Davis was injured or Costa Mesa needed a big play in the red zone.

“He’s always there for us,” said Manny, a senior cornerback. “He always feels that empty spot. When we needed a receiver, he was there. When we needed a QB, he was there. When we need a linebacker, he was there.

“He’s pretty good at everything except his kicking, his little floaters.”

Waldron tried kicking field goals when Hector Solis went down with an injury against Estancia in the league opener.

“As we’re leaving practice [one day], we look over and we see the ball bag and there’s Brian kicking field goals,” said Osso, who didn’t stick around to see if Waldron made one because the attempts earlier during practice fell way short. “He has to try and be good at something. That’s a great attitude to have.

“We told him, ‘We found your kryptonite.’ ”

Waldron hopes losing four players doesn’t doom Costa Mesa and his attempt to lead the Mustangs to their first playoff win since 1997.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].