Miller Finally Pulls Program Together : Coach of the Year: He adjusted to injuries and small roster to lead Costa Mesa to first outright PCL title.

Myron Miller knew at the beginning of the year that his team would be good.

“For whatever reason,” he said in August, “we have the athletes we haven’t had in the past.”

Miller knew what he was talking about. He had only 22 players on his team and six of them started on both offense and defense.

He manipulated players in and out of the lineup, gave them breathers when he could, and adjusted well to what few injuries there were.

Together, they made history.

Costa Mesa won its first outright Pacific Coast League football title, and its first since 1978. It was the Mustangs’ third championship.

For being able to pull it all together--finally--for a program that has known its share of frustration, Miller is The Times Orange County Coach of the Year.

A second-year coach who came from Riverside Ramona, Miller was chosen based upon his team’s regular-season performance (6-2-2, 4-0-1 in league).

They might have done even better had it not been for some early-season breakdowns: In all, only seven points separated them from 10-0. They continued that run in the playoffs, culminating in their first Southern Section Division VIII title game, a 44-6 loss against PCL opponent Trabuco Hills to finish 9-3-2.

Miller credited Alex Henderson’s assistance with the defense, and his players’ work ethic for the turnaround.

Despite a frustrating 20-20 tie in Week 2, Miller announced, “Our program is headed in the right direction.”

He was right.