A Mustang Who Gets His Kicks : Triple-Threat John Carlson Is a Bright Spot in a Long Season

It’s difficult to maintain a good attitude when you’re team is losing, but thus far John Carlson has managed to always put his best foot forward.

Carlson, a receiver, defensive end and punter, has been one of the few positive parts of Costa Mesa High School’s season. The Mustangs won only one of their first five games, but because of a forfeit by Laguna Beach, Costa Mesa is 2-3 overall, and 1-1 in the Sea View League.

Costa Mesa is in its second year of rebuilding under veteran coach Tom Baldwin and it hasn’t been easy.

The Mustangs play in a league with powers such as Saddleback and Newport Harbor, whom they play at Davidson Field tonight. Also, their nonleague schedule included Santiago and Los Alamitos, both which are having outstanding seasons.

And, as if all that doesn’t present a challenge, the Mustangs have already suffered enough injuries to warrant a red cross painted on the side of the team bus.

In last week’s 28-7 loss to Corona del Mar, starting tailback Scott Anderson (341 yards on 76 carries) suffered a knee injury that will probably sideline him for the rest of the season. He’ll join linebacker Mike Szyperski, out with a broken arm.

Anderson also was a starter on defense, which means that the Mustangs’ starting linebackers of Szyperski, Anderson and Paul Rodriguez (since converted to quarterback) are missing from defense.

All of which brings us to Carlson. As tough as the last season-and-a-half has been for the Mustangs (0-9-1 last year), it is difficult to imagine what it would have been like without Carlson.

Whenever the Mustangs get in trouble, he is the player they call on.

Besides starting at defensive end, the 6-foot 3-inch, 235-pound senior has popped up at receiver and running back. Carlson, a power forward with emphasis on power in basketball, has proven nimble enough to run the ball and catch passes.

Against Corona del Mar, Carlson caught 8 passes for 184 yards, including a diving 58-yard reception for his longest gain. That gave Carlson 16 receptions, the fourth-highest in league.

So, how is Baldwin able to free his most obvious receiver?

“We put him in motion a lot,” Baldwin said. “That way, the defense doesn’t know when he’s going to turn up the field.

“He’s a great, great athlete, but he also works very hard at it.”

Baldwin, who first began coaching preps in 1957, apparently has lost little enthusiasm for the game. His team is on the practice field at 2:30 p.m. sharp, the players say “Yes, sir” and “No, sir,” and Baldwin said he has support from his administration and parents booster club.

Despite not yet having a winning record, Baldwin gets excited when talking about his team’s prospects as well as the prospects of his best player, Carlson.

It’s easy to see why. At a recent practice Carlson’s warmup kicks were going between 40 and 50 yards. Carlson averages 40 yards per kick; his farthest was 75 yards.

“You should have seen the long one,” Baldwin said. “He was standing on our goal line when he kicked it and the ball ended up on their 15. The safety just watched it sail over his head.

“Sometimes he outkicks the coverage, but he’s real good about reaching the sidelines so they can’t return it anyway.”

Carlson’s easy going off-the-field demeanor belies his intense play.

“Because of our record and all of the injuries, we’re not feeling too well, but coming back off of last year and then winning the opener (over Bolsa Grande) boosted our confidence a lot,” Carlson said.

“We’re a small team, so the injuries really have an effect on us.”

Though Carlson prefers playing receiver, his punting is what helps the Mustangs the most, often putting the other team in bad field position.

Carlson tries to follow a set formula, and he often can tell whether he has made a good kick on contact.

Said Carlson: “It’s all concentration: watch the ball, get a good drop and then follow through. One, two and boom !”

Though an equivalent player on a winning team will probably get more postseason honors than Carlson, his future prospects are no less bright.

Carlson is being heavily recruited by Arizona State, coached by John Cooper, who was an assistant at Kansas when the Jayhawks tried to recruit Isaac Curtis of Santa Ana. Baldwin also was Curtis’ coach.

Curtis eventually chose California and later transferred to San Diego State, but Baldwin kept in touch with Cooper.

Regardless of where Carlson goes, however, his size, ability and propensity for hard work all but guarantees that college football for him should be as easy as, well, one-two- boom.