Rolling Out Welcome Mats for Homecomings : The opposition: Scheduling these games against teams with losing records is part of the tradition, but it doesn’t always ensure a victory.

Somebody has to be the other team at homecoming. However, Costa Mesa High School football Coach Tom Baldwin wonders why it always has to be his team.

“We’ve seen so many homecoming games, we’ve thought about buying tuxedos for our coaching staff,” Baldwin said. “I think schools have tried to hold their homecomings at our home games.”

Baldwin might be oversensitive, perhaps even paranoid. Then again, every Mustang road game in the Pacific Coast League this season will be a homecoming.

Costa Mesa and Irvine each play in three homecoming games on the road this season, the most among Orange County high schools. The fact that the Mustangs were 0-10 and the Vaqueros 3-7 in 1989 is part of the reason they were chosen.

Winning the homecoming game is a big part of the package. It goes with fireworks, the floats and the crowning of the queen.

Hey, who wants to go to the dance after a loss?

So, scheduling a soft opponent is as much a homecoming tradition as the cars that circle the field at halftime. Nearly two-thirds of the county’s high schools play their homecoming games against teams that had losing records in 1989.

“Everybody seems to want us for homecoming because they think we’re easy,” Baldwin said. “We don’t mind. Heck, we like that extra five minutes you get at halftime.”

However, handpicking a homecoming opponent doesn’t guarantee a victory.

Coaches worry that the ceremony and events during the week can distract players, causing mental mistakes.

Occasionally, one of the players will be in the running for homecoming king. Usually, it’s one of the better players, causing further distractions.

Players also might have their minds on the dance after the game.

“When we play at someone’s homecoming, I always hope they have a real good band for the dance,” San Clemente football Coach Dave Elecciri said. “I hope there are lots of girls going to the dance. I hope their players love dancing. I want their minds on the dance, not the game.”

Besides distractions, there is that psychological edge. Coaches play the “We-get-no-respect” angle to the hilt.

“We’ll tell our kids that they were specially selected by the other team,” Baldwin said. “We want them to feel the other team is certain of victory. We like that underdog role.”

There are times, however, when the homecoming opponent turns out to be better than anticipated.

In 1984, Irvine was coming off a bad season and appeared to be a perfect homecoming opponent for Capistrano Valley. However, it was the Vaqueros who were ahead at halftime.

“They were shooting off $5,000 worth of fireworks outside, but that was nothing compared to the fireworks that (Capistrano Valley football Coach) Dick Enright was firing off in the locker room,” said Elecciri, who was an assistant at Capistrano Valley at the time. “We couldn’t even hear the fireworks.”

Irvine ended up winning the game on a last-second field goal.

“We’ve pulled off a few upsets at homecomings,” Irvine football Coach Terry Henigan said. “We beat Capo Valley one year and Dana Hills another. Sometimes those distractions have an effect.”

However, Henigan isn’t offended by the number of homecoming games his team will play in the South Coast League this year. In fact, he said he expected it.

“With Capo Valley, El Toro and Mission Viejo in this league, I can understand why we’re so popular,” Henigan said. “It wouldn’t make any sense to play one of them for homecoming.”