The opening drive for the Mustangs resulted in a 35-yard touchdown run by Raphael Lawson-Gale, providing a quick 7-0 lead which instilled confidence in the home team throughout the first half.
“We were overwhelmed with excitement after the touchdown, linemen ran right through their blocks and made a big hole for us and we took advantage of that,” said Lawson-Gale.
Mira Costa’s offense continued to move on its second drive but a field goal attempt went off of the right post for a miss.
After Loyola running back Nico Evans scored two second-quarter touchdowns on runs of 55 and 45 yards, Lawson-Gayle struck gold as he ran for a 60 yard touchdown down the left side, out sprinting tacklers along the way to tie the score at 14-14 at halftime.
With quarterback Khalil McClain held out of the game due to a concussion suffered the previous week against Serra, Ryan Sweigart returned to the starting role he held at the start of the season and played well for the time he was on the field. Unfortunately he sprained his right ankle late into the third quarter and never returned. Gregg Briskin filled in as a third string quarterback and played well throughout the last quarter.
While Mira Costa’s offense stalled, Loyola scored 21 straight points in the second half to secure a 35-14 victory and improve its record to 4-1.
The loss of emotional leader and captain Josh Qerbash also proved to be very crucial for Mira Costa, as he had been a running force throughout the season. Sebastian Franck-Love filled in for Qerbash who is expected to return next week when the Mustangs host Newport Harbor.
“He is the emotional leader, a captain, everybody knows that he is going to deliver 100 percent effort every single time, so I think its pretty huge not to have him out there,” said Mira Costa head coach Don Morrow.
Not only did the Mustangs lose a two-way starter in Qerbash, the team also lost defensive linemen Max Farkas and Madden Laing. Stepping up were Cory Sanicky and RJ Coleman who had to fill in the gaps of the trenches with increased playing time.
“It was difficult and I knew it was going to be, and it kicked my butt,” said Sanicky, a two-way starter who had been sick earlier in the week with a cold. “They just got a few breakaways and once you’re down its hard to get back up, especially against such a good team like Loyola.”
“We’ve got to limit mistakes, work hard in practice this coming week and keep it consistent throughout the game next week,” said Coleman.
Mira Costa will host Newport Harbor Friday at 7 p.m. The Sailors evened their record at 2-2 with a 28-7 home win against San Clemente.
Running back Tala Teaupa rushed for 198 yards and two touchdowns while sophomore quarterback Cole Norris connected on 8-of-12 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns.
The team’s air attack is led by Landon Gyulay and Quest Truxton.
