PREP FOOTBALL / Special Pullout Section : Costa Mesa Gains Final With a Rush : DIVISION VIII

He looked like a kid who busted the pinata and a gold mine spilled out.

That was Costa Mesa Coach Myron Miller, the adult among this jovial young group that just added another asterisk to school history.

Going into Friday night’s Southern Section Division VIII semifinal game against San Marino at Newport Harbor High, no football team in the school’s 34 years of existence had advanced this far in the playoffs.

But the Mustangs weren’t satisfied in leaving well enough alone. So they didn’t.

With a 35-7 victory in front 2,000, Costa Mesa advanced to the Dec. 11 championship game against the winner of tonight’s Trabuco Hills-Laguna Hills game.

“We’re real excited to be going to the finals,” Miller said. “We’ve had fun all season. Things started coming together for us in the fourth game, and it’s been a lot of fun ever since.”

This one was sheer joy.

With the exception of a San Marino 63-yard kickoff return in the second quarter and a 76-yard touchdown pass early in the third, everything went Costa Mesa’s way.

“I’d say it was our best game,” said a grinning Brian Smith. “But we still have one more, and we’ll have to play better.”

Smith was part of the offensive line that gave senior running back Binh Tran all the room he need to maneuver, which Tran did.

Tran rushed for 309 yards in 50 carries and scored three touchdowns for Costa Mesa (9-2-2).

“Tran had a great game,” Miller said.

The Mustangs took a 14-0 halftime lead on a nine-yard run by Dwayne Crenshaw and a 50-yard romp by Tran. San Marino (9-2-2) cut its deficit in half, 14-7, early in the third quarter on the 76-yard scoring pass from Danny Loyd to Geoff MacAdam.

On its next possession, Costa Mesa ate six minutes off the clock and Tran scored on a one-yard run for a 21-7 lead. In the fourth, Tran scored from one-yard out and Charles Chatman, who also intercepted a Loyd pass, ran in from five yards out.

But what about those poor neglected Costa Mesa receivers? They have been a lonely bunch all season long, and Friday, Mustang quarterback Jeff Niebling added to their isolation.

Niebling didn’t throw one pass.

“I do feel a little sorry for them,” Tran said with a laugh. “But I love to carry the ball.”

Miller knew early that he was going to keep this team grounded.

“I told them at halftime, if (San Marino) was going to let us pitch, we weren’t going to throw a pass all night.”