Costa Mesa starts strong, wins season opener against Gabrielino

Costa Mesa High football coach Glen Fisher could have been concerned.

Fisher saw his team go up two touchdowns early, but the seemingly secure lead was trimmed to five points midway through the third quarter of Friday night’s season opener against Gabrielino.

These were the kind of games the Mustangs made a habit of losing during last year’s 1-9 campaign.

“Last year, we would have folded,” Fisher said after the game.

This year, the Mustangs didn’t.

They responded early in the fourth quarter with a touchdown drive, culminating in senior quarterback Ben Swanson finding senior tight end Jack Perez on a 29-yard touchdown pass. Perez made an athletic play to jump and snag the ball against the defensive back, and was able to easily get into the end zone.

Mesa was on its way to a 19-7 win at its home field. And, as Fisher reminded his team after the game, they are on a two-game winning streak after winning the finale last year.

Winning Friday night’s game felt good for the Mustangs, who captured their second season opener in three seasons. The 19 points were the most the team has scored in 17 games, since a 40-14 triumph over Los Amigos on Sept. 18, 2015.

“It’s amazing,” said Swanson, the third-year starting quarterback who passed for 146 yards and a touchdown. “Everyone had the heart. Everyone knew what they had to do and executed.”

Costa Mesa started strong, scoring touchdowns on its first two drives of the game. Angel Valle (45 yards rushing on 11 carries) and Chris Romero (44 yards on nine carries) took turns carrying the ball much of the night, and they took turns finding the end zone early.

First it was Romero from a yard out, a drive highlighted by Swanson’s 34-yard pass to junior Aaron Gonzalez.

Gabrielino, of San Gabriel, drove into Costa Mesa territory. But although junior quarterback Steven Gomez was able to pick up a low snap, the ensuing handoff was fumbled. Valle was there to recover it for Mesa.

Swanson struck quickly after the Mustangs got the ball back. On the next play, he avoided pressure and hooked up wih junior Brandon Gonzalez on a 47-yard pass. Two plays later, Valle found the end zone from five yards out, and the Mustangs had a 12-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

“It builds up a lot of confidence,” Swanson said of the fast start. “We know we can do that. We know we can come out and just stomp people.”

But the score stayed the same until the third quarter, when Gomez led the visitors on a 13-play, 69-yard drive aided by a Costa Mesa pass interference penalty on fourth-and-one. Gomez found sophomore receiver Donovan Sanin on a three-yard touchdown pass, and the conversion kick cut the Mustangs’ lead to five.

Costa Mesa had its answer. The touchdown pass to Perez, plus the extra-point from sophomore Wally Olmeda, pushed the lead back to 12 points.

“To me, it’s the heart,” Swanson said when asked the difference from last year. “Every single person on this team is committed, and they want to win.”

Senior Carlos Estrada and Romero combined on a quarterback sack for Mesa, which limited Gabrielino to just three first downs in the first half. Aaron Gonzalez stopped a running back for a four-yard loss, and he also shut down a reverse play for a five-yard loss.

Luke Tsuge also broke up a couple of passes for the Mustangs, the second one nearly intercepted by teammate Ty Muir off the deflection.

Costa Mesa plays against Garden Grove Santiago next week at Garden Grove High.

Costa Mesa 19, Gabrielino 7

Gabrielino……0 0 7 0 — 7

Costa Mesa….12 0 0 7 — 19

FIRST QUARTER

CM – Romero 1 run (kick failed), 9:57.

CM – Valle 5 run (run failed), 7:11.

THIRD QUARTER

Gab – Sanin 3 pass from Gomez (Scannell kick), 6:51.

FOURTH QUARTER

CM – Perez 29 pass from Swanson (Olmeda kick), 9:31.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

Gab – Gomez, 13-40.

CM – Valle, 11-45, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

Gab – Gomez, 9-21-0, 61, 1 TD.

CM – Swanson, 9-15-0, 146, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

Gab – Ortega, 2-43.

CM – B. Gonzalez, 3-61.

matthew.szabo@latimes.com

Twitter: @mjszabo