Pham’s Running Leads Costa Mesa Past Laguna Beach

Senior running back Quoc Pham ran for 199 yards and two touchdowns to lead Costa Mesa High School to a 51-14 Pacific Coast League victory over Laguna Beach Friday night at Guyer Field.

Pham, a 5-10, 170-pound senior, got his yardage on only 17 carries and was taken out of the game early in the third quarter after suffering a hamstring injury.

Costa Mesa (4-4, 2-1) broke the game open early after junior cornerback Matt Jaglowski picked off a pass at the Laguna Beach 35-yard line on the third play of the game. Three plays later, Pham scored his first touchdown from three yards out, the first of 21 Mustang points in the opening quarter.

Laguna Beach (2-6, 0-3) scored in the second period when junior wide receiver Eric Fegraus caught a 10-yard pass from quarterback Morgan Lanchantin.

But Costa Mesa came right back with another touchdown on an eight-play, 86-yard drive, capped by Pham’s 35-yard run.

The Mustangs added nine points in the last 40 seconds. Adam Hernandez tackled Lanchantin in the end zone after a bad snap from center, and senior running back David Phillips then scooped up a loose ball on the ensuing kickoff and ran 45 yards for the game’s final score.