Justin Reed
Staff Writer
Mira Costa football beat Morningside High School, 50-12, Friday at Coleman Stadium improving its record to 8-1 overall and 3-1 in Bay League play. Quarterback junior David Arredondo led the Mustangs with five touchdown passes to three different receivers.
As a result of Friday’s win, Costa is now tied with Redondo Union High School for second place in Bay league, with both trailing Bay League champ Palos Verdes. The winner of the Costa-Redondo game Friday at Waller Stadium at 7 p.m. will clinch second place in Bay League and will receive an automatic bid for the CIF playoffs, while the loser must hope for an at-large bid.
“We have been watching film of Redondo, and we need to get a feel for how they are going to attack us on offense,” Arredondo said. “They are going to want to bring pressure at me all night, and we need to protect well and I need to get the ball out fast.”
In the first quarter of the Morningside game, Costa quickly put points on the board with a successful field goal by senior kicker Graham Lipps and a touchdown by junior receiver Justin Goring.
Costa quickly put pressure on Morningside with junior quarterback Arredondo controlling the game and pushing Costa forward up the field. Arredondo was helped by his offensive line, which gave him the time to make the correct plays without fear of being sacked.
“We came out to a slow start, and we knew we had to turn it on to secure our playoff hopes,” Arredondo said. “Having the o-line block for me as well as they did and having receivers who can get open during man coverage was helpful in gaining an early lead.”
As the second quarter started, Costa continued to push ahead with touchdowns by junior receiver Casey Bonner and another by Goring. With accurate passes by Arredondo, Costa kept the pressure up on Morningside, not slowing down at all throughout the game and ending the second quarter 26-0.
“After I scored, it made me feel as if we really solidified our dominant role in the game and established that we were there to play to win,” Bonner said.
The third quarter started out strong with a touchdown by junior receiver Jamal Williams and great passes by Arredondo to strengthen Costa’s lead. With another successful point after touchdown attempt by Lipps, Costa continued to rack up points against Morningside, ending the third quarter 43-12.
The fourth quarter ended with strongly for the Mustangs with a touchdown by senior running back Chris Salamon, finishing off the game with a 38-point lead. Costa played hard throughout the game with many successful offensive drives while holding off Morningside’s offense.
Costa’s final season game is against Redondo, which is 7-2 overall and 3-1 in Bay League, with a non-league loss against Mission Viejo and a league loss against Palos Verdes High School.
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