Mira Costa’s physical play dominated the athleticism of Highland Friday night as the Mustangs ran wild in a 34-6 home win in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Northern Division playoffs.
Mira Costa head coach Don Morrow took advantage of his large and talented offensive line, running the ball on the Mustang’s first 19 plays of the game.
Linemen Joe Anderson (6-5, 310), Michael Holliday (6-5, 250), Nate Mahony (6-4, 200), Jimmy Millea (6-3, 265) and tight end Dane Largent (6-2, 195) paved the way while Mira Costa concluded a 69-yard scoring drive with a 1-yard run by Sebastian Franck-Love.
After the Mustang defense prevented the Bulldogs from gaining a first down, Mira Costa drove 72 yards on nine plays, taking a 14-0 lead with 39.5 seconds left in the first quarter on a 14-yard touchdown run by Brandon Mills.
In the third quarter Franck-Love, who finished the game with 203 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries, scored his second touchdown of the game on a 3-yard run.
Tre Searcy added a 1-yard touchdown run to give Mira Costa a commanding 28-0 lead entering the final quarter.
Known for his standout play at defensive end, Jahlani Tavai provided the home crowd – and his teammates – the highlight of the evening.
The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Tavai hauled in a 34-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Greg Briskin on a play Morrow said the team has practiced throughout the year.
“I didn’t know what to do with the ball,” Tavai said. “So I went to my teammates and we celebrated as a team. One team, one heartbeat, that’s all we’re going through. Just have fun and fly around. We’ve had a chip on our shoulder since PV week and since then we told each other ‘no one scores on our defense.’”
Tavai recorded three sacks and was in on numerous tackles leading a defense that limited the athletic and fast Highland offense to a 2-yard touchdown run with 1:50 remaining in the game.
It was the first touchdown allowed by Mira Costa’s defense in four games.
Seventh-ranked Mira Costa (8-3) has now outscored opponents 345-202 and will travel to Saugus (6-5) for a quarterfinal contest on Friday. Saugus upset third-seeded Atascadero 34-27 on the road Friday.
The Centurians have a balanced offense led by junior quarterback Chris Hamilton (5-11, 185). Entering the playoffs, Saugus averaged 170 yards passing and 187 yard rushing per game.
While Hamilton’s favorite target is 5-9, 155-round receiver Marc Langford, it was the Centurian’s rushing attack that eliminated PAC-7 champion Atascadero.
Saugus ran a season-high 73 times for 411 yards led by Reid Rupe (5-9, 170) who rushed for 208 yards on 26 carries including the game-winning touchdown with 2:21 left in regulation.
Hamilton added 113 yards on 26 carries and Blake Austin (5-8, 180) carried the ball 15 times for 90 yards.
