Football: Rebels cash in, win against Costa Mesa

The Costa Mesa High football team appeared close to snapping a five-game losing streak Friday night. Instead, an ill-fated punt snap helped send the Mustangs dispondently into a bye week that Coach Wally Grant can only hope will reveal the resiliency required to snap back.

Setting up to punt with just more than two minutes left from their own 37-yard line and leading, 8-6, a high punt snap resulted in a 30-yard loss for the Mustangs and set Savanna up for its winning touchdown in a 13-8 nonleague triumph at Jim Scott Stadium.

The Costa Mesa punter chased down the errant snap, launched by a backup who Grant said had never long-snapped in a game before, but was tackled at his own seven-yard line with 2:20 remaining.

The Mustangs’ regular long snapper was injured the series before.

Two plays after the bad punt snap, Savanna quarterback Leroy Hibbert powered in from the one-yard line to give the visitors their first lead with 1:39 left.

The Rebels, however, nearly surrendered that lead, as Costa Mesa used two long pass plays to create first-and-goal with 38 seconds remaining.

Mesa junior quarterback Sammy Swanson, who as the middle man on the Mustangs’ smashmouth double-wing attack had not completed a pass since Sept. 5, connected with junior Rodrigo Cavalho for a 36-yard bomb on the first snap after Savanna’s kickoff sailed into the end zone for a touchback.

Three plays later, Swanson, who had just four completions in the first four games, threw a strike to Michael Dias, who had sprinted behind the Savanna defense. Dias, who had to hold up to catch the pass, was chased down from behind after the reception at the Rebels’ eight-yard line with 38 seconds remaining.

An encroachment penalty moved it to the four and a pitch play gained one yard, before Mesa called its final timeout with nine seconds left.

Grant said he called a pick pass and that Carvahlo was wide open in the end zone on the game’s final play. But Savanna sacked Swanson at the nine-yard line before he could deliver the pass and time expired.

“We found another way to lose a game,” said a disconsolent Grant, whose team lost two fumbles on center-quarterback exhanges, both of which led to a pair of Savanna field goals to cut into the lead. “That has been the theme this year.”

The snapping miscues helped Savanna overcome an 85-yard touchdown run by Costa Mesa junior wingback Cameron Curet on the first play of the second quarter.

After a penalty moved the ball close to the one-yard line on the ensuing conversion attempt, Swanson ran in for two points and an 8-0 advantage with 11:44 left in the first half.

But aside from the long Curet run and the two late completions, Costa Mesa (0-5) netted just 29 yards on the other 44 offensive plays.

Curet nearly hauled in a 30-yard, fourth-down scoring pass on Mesa’s first possession, but the Savanna defensive back got just enough of the ball to dislodge it in the end zone.

Mesa survived a successful fake-punt run on Savanna’s ensuing possession that reached the Mustangs’ nine-yard line, as the defense stiffened and held on fourth-and-goal.

Costa Mesa junior linebacker Mason Mataafa recovered a fumble to halt Savanna’s next possession and the Mesa defense allowed the Rebels (2-2) only six points on its next three trips to the red zone.

A Mataafa sack that forced a fumble appeared to end the first half. But when the ball went out of bounds, the officials elected to put one second back on the clock and Jarred Pena followed with a 29-yard field goal.

Pena also connected from 27 yards out with 5:18 left in the third quarter, after the Rebels collected the Mustangs’ second fumbled snap.

“Those were on aubibles,” Grant said of the lost fumbles. “[The Rebels’ defense] did some things we could have exposed [by changing the play], but when we audibled, it turned into center exchange problems, so we stopped. We didn’t audible the rest of the night.”

But Mesa, which had produced just 29 passing yards in the first four games, nearly won the game in the air.

“The kids battled,” Grant said. “I don’t know how many offenses this late in the game are going to get guys that wide open, but we did. We hadn’t completed a pass in two games, but we finally did.”

Savanna Coach Roger Whalen was visibly relieved, and happy.

“We were fortunate [with the punt snap], but we’ve been on the other end of that for three years, so it’s about time,” said Whalen, who nearly saw his defense give up the lead.

“I was hoping that pass would go out of the end zone [on the last snap],” Whalen said. “Before that, I was hoping we could get our [secondary] back and maybe play a little pass defense.”

Curet had 131 yards on 14 rushing attempts, while Devin Tims rushed for 96 yards to account for more than half of the Rebels’ 184 offensive yards.

Middle linebackers Swanson and Mataafa, tackle Andrew Garcia, cornerback Josh Snipes, tackle Helper Kisino, and outside ‘backer Curet stood out on defense for the Mustangs.

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Savanna 13, Costa Mesa 8

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Savanna 0 – 3 – 3 – 7 — 13

Costa Mesa 0 – 8 – 0 – 0 — 8

SECOND QUARTER

CM – Curet 85 run (Swanson run), 11:44.

Sav – Pena 29 FG, 0:00.

THIRD QUARTER

Sav – Pena 27 FG, 5:18.

FOURTH QUARTER

Sav – Hibbert 1 run (Pena kick), 1:39.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

Sav – Tims, 17-96.

CM – Curet, 14-131, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

Sav – Hibbert, 1-7-0, 10.

CM – Swanson, 2-4-0, 70.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

Sav – Gill, 1-10.

CM – Carvalho, 1-36, Dias, 1-34.