Zuniga Helps Costa Mesa Win Title

Costa Mesa won a share of the Pacific Coast League title and the league’s No. 1 berth in the playoffs by beating Corona del Mar, 14-0, Friday at Newport Harbor. Junior tailback C.J. Zuniga scored both touchdowns.

Corona del Mar, which gets a share of its first league title since 1988, is the league’s No. 2 playoff representative.

University, which knocked off title-contending Estancia Thursday, is the No. 3 entry.

Estancia, which gave Mesa its only league loss, will seek the division’s lone at-large berth.

A coin-flip would have accompanied a Corona del Mar victory, but it was squelched by Mesa’s powerful defense, as well as a Mustang offense which made the game’s only big plays.

The first of the key moments came one play after a Mesa cornerback Greg Stewart recovered a fumble at the Mustangs’ 35 midway through the second quarter.

Senior quarterback Dave Weir rolled right and connected with senior tight end Willy Franco, who brushed off one tackler near the sideline and bowled over a second, on his way to a 43-yard pickup.

A leaping catch by Luis Day on a 16-yard fade pattern gave the visitors first-and-goal at the four.

Zuniga soared over the fourth-down pile for a one-yard touchdown with 3:37 left in the half.

Zuniga got the final touchdown, a 61-yard run, with 8:53 left in the game.

“I challenged my offensive line the whole game,” said Zuniga, who finished with 127 yards in 32 attempts to up his season total to 1,937 yards.

His two touchdowns leave him one shy of the school single-season record of 29, set by Charles Chatman in 1994.