High School Football Preview: Costa Mesa vs. Laguna Beach

Costa Mesa (6-3, 4-0) vs. Laguna Beach (5-4, 2-2)

When/Where: Friday, 7 p.m., at Guyer Field, Laguna Beach High

Key Mustangs: Sr. RB-MLB-KR Oronde Crenshaw (1,599 yards and 23 touchdowns on 182 carries, three kickoffs for TDs, 88 tackles, four interceptions); Sr. TE-DL Joseph Quiroz (79 tackles, 8 1/2 sacks); Sr. WR-DB-QB Daniel Lawrence (283 yards and three TDs on 24 receptions, 47 tackles, four interceptions, one fumble recovery).

Key Breakers: Sr. RB-DB-KR Nathan Lancaster (2,089 yards and 28 touchdowns on 171 carries, two receiving touchdowns, 29 total touchdowns, one interception); Sr. RB-DB-KR Andres DeLaRosa (725 yards and 11 touchdowns on 82 carries, one interception); Jr. RB-DB Keaton Martinez (126 yards on 16 carries, 238 yards on 15 receptions, three interceptions); Jr. WR-DB Jake Smith (130 yards and one touchdown on seven receptions, two interceptions); Soph. QB Jack Simon (63 of 126, 901 yards, five touchdowns, five interceptions).

Breakdown: Costa Mesa is one win away from capturing its first outright Orange Coast League championship since 2008 ... The Mustangs have a one-game edge on second-place Calvary Chapel heading into the final night of the regular season ...Costa Mesa is ranked No. 8 in this week’s CIF Southern Section Southern Division poll and brings a five-game win streak into Friday’s game ... Laguna Beach, last year’s OCL champion, has dropped its last two games and fell out of the Southern Division rankings following last week’s 46-24 loss at Godinez, the first time the Breakers haven’t been ranked this year ... Laguna can sew up a CIF playoff berth with a win against the Mustangs ... Teams are similar in their outstanding run games and both have three of the league’s top backs ... Senior running back Nathan Lancaster last week became Laguna’s career leader in three categories: season rushing yards, season rushing touchdowns, and career rushing yards which is now totals 3,549 yards. He averages 12.2 yards per carry ... Lancaster shattered those three records that were set just last year by Drake Martinez, who is now at Nebraska ... Lancaster’s running mate and fellow senior, Andres DeLaRosa, is another speedy back to keep an eye on ... Oronde Crenshaw continues to run wild down the stretch of the regular season ...The senior last week rolled up a career-high 377 yards and scored five times as the Mustangs beat Calvary Chapel in a battle for first place ... Costa Mesa is averaging 34.8 points per game and has scored 54 or more points in each of its last three games ... Laguna comes in averaging 37.7 points on offense ... The Breakers defense has given up 106 points in the last two weeks, losses to Calvary Chapel (62-56, overtime) and Godinez.

— Mike Sciacca