Hawks Beat Costa Mesa, but Coach Wants More

If Laguna Hills Coach Steve Bresnahan had been looking for something positive to say about his team, and it was pretty clear he wasn’t, it would have to be the Hawks’ consistency.

“We were flat on the bus,” Bresnahan said, “flat in warmups and flat in the game.”

Of course, when your team is ranked fourth in Orange County and No. 1 in the Southern Section Division VIII poll, your standards are higher than most.

Bresnahan’s remarks came after Laguna Hills had defeated Costa Mesa, 35-12, in a Pacific Coast League game Thursday at Newport Harbor High.

The victory sets up a regular season-ending showdown with Aliso Niguel Thursday at Mission Viejo High. Both team are 9-0 and 4-0 in league. Aliso Niguel is also ranked second in Division VIII.

“[Aliso Niguel] is a good football team,” Bresnahan said. “It should be a good game. . . . We’ve got to grow up as a football team really fast.”

Michael Jones, who leads Orange County in rushing, didn’t have one of his better games but finished with 178 yards and three touchdowns in 27 carries. He has 1,993 yards and 28 touchdowns this season.

Jones quickly establish himself. After a dive play off the left side, he went 53 yards for a touchdown. His other scoring runs were from two yards. The one drawback to Jones’ evening was a second-quarter fumble, but Costa Mesa (5-4, 2-2) failed to convert it into points.

Laguna Hills, which has won 17 consecutive games in the Pacific Coast League, had much better luck taking advantage of Costa Mesa errors.

Laguna Hills defensive back Dustin Mang recovered a fumble and ran 24 yards for a touchdown that put his team ahead, 14-0, with about four minutes left in the first quarter.

The most costly turnover came late in the first half, when Costa Mesa, intending to run out the clock, fumbled a snap, giving up the ball at its 29. Laguna Hills scored on its first play--a pass from Cory Pardoe to Jeff Fischer--for a 28-0 lead.