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Costa avenges last year’s loss to Leuzinger, leads league 4-0
by Quentin Haigh
Mira Costa Mustangs beat the Leuzinger Olympians in a nailbiter, 27-24 last Friday night at Leuzinger. The Olympians had beaten the Mustangs soundly the previous year, including an astounding win over the Costa JV team, 90-7. Costa, looking for revenge, played hard and sent their record to an excellent 4-0.
Leuzinger went up early with a touchdown, followed by a two-point conversion, setting the score at 8-0. The Mustangs caught up quickly, however, with a touchdown and two-point conversion combo of their own, tying the score at 8-8. Later on, in the second quarter of play, Leuzinger regained the lead with another touchdown, followed by another two-point conversion, moving the scoreboard to 16-8. The Mustangs hurried up the field on the ensuing drive with a 50-yard pass to wide receiver Nick Haley. They capitalized on the drive with a touchdown pass to wide receiver Austin Jefferson. But they were not able to punch in the two-point conversion and were left with a two point deficit at half-time, 16-14.
The Mustangs got right down to business in the second half, scoring on the first drive. Running back Michael Okwo scored the touchdown with an impressive 29-yard run. With 8:12 left in the third quarter, the score now stood at 20-16, Costa’s lead. On Leuzinger’s next drive, Costa regained the ball with 6:48 left on the clock, forcing and recovering a fumble on their own 20-yard line. Leuzinger enacted some revenge, forcing Okwo to turn the ball over to them by fumbling with only 3:15 remaining in the third. They took control of the ball on their 20-yard line. Costa’s defense took a big step up and didn’t allow Leuzinger to make any positive ground, forcing a Leuzinger punt. Later, in the fourth quarter, Costa converted a long third down play to Haley. Okwo then rushed for 15 yards, followed by a 37-yard pass to tight end Devin Adair for the score. This put Costa up 27-16.
Knowing that it was crucial to convert, Leuzinger managed to put it in the end zone after a 12-play, 92-yard drive, climaxed by Victor McClendon rushing the ball three yards up the middle into the end zone on a broken play. They made the two-point conversion and found themselves down 27-24 with 3:46 to go in the game. Costa gave Leuzinger the ball on downs, and allowed Leuzinger to make one final drive, starting on their own 30-yard line. They managed to make it all the way to the Costa one-yard line before being stopped by the clock, and Costa’s defensive line.
One of the big contributors on the Costa side was Peter Dobush, mentioned in the LA Times as a Top Performer for the game. He completed 15 of 22 passes for 214 yards. Nick Haley caught five passes for 103 yards, Michael Okwo rushed for 128 yards in 20 carries, and Devin Adair had four receptions for 71 yards.
"It was a key victory on the way to the Bay League title, as Leuzinger looks like the team to beat. We’re looking forward to next week’s game against Hawthorne, another good team. It will be a good test of our team’s strength, and we’ll see how our players returning from injury, such as offensive lineman Andrew Lyons, do," commented Costa linebacker Rob Ford. ER