ORANGE COUNTY / PREP FOOTBALL : Zuniga Powers Costa Mesa Past Saddleback

C.J. Zuniga showed up on the Costa Mesa practice field just a few weeks before the start of the football season. Mustang Coach Jerry Howell knew the transfer from Prescott, Ariz., was good enough to start, but after seeing him in only one scrimmage, he didn’t know just how good Zuniga was.

Friday night he found out. Zuniga carried the ball 21 times for 174 yards and scored all four Mustang touchdowns as Costa Mesa defeated Saddleback, 28-19, in a season-opening game at Orange Coast College.

Zuniga, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound junior, was a pleasant surprise for the Mustangs, who lost star running back Jimmy Herzog when he transferred to Santa Margarita. Herzog carried the ball 298 times for 1,502 yards last season, and Zuniga says it is his goal to top that mark. If he keeps up this pace, he will, by 238 yards.

“I just have to keep going forward,” Zuniga said. “I was expecting a good game tonight, but if it weren’t for my offensive line it wouldn’t have happened.”

Zuniga put the Mustangs on the board first. Jason Rankin blocked a Saddleback punt, and four plays later Zuniga scored on a five-yard run with 7:09 left in the first quarter.

The Roadrunners answered with an 81-yard scoring drive, but Costa Mesa came right back and Zuniga ran it in again from five yards, giving the Mustangs a 14-6 lead with 11:54 left in the half.

Zuniga closed out the half with a nine-yard score off a pitch from quarterback Dave Weir, giving Costa Mesa a 21-6 lead.

Saddleback’s Joel Gonzalez, who rushed for 166 yards in 21 carries, scored with 8:41 to play, a four-yard run that pulled the Roadrunners to within 21-12. But Zuniga put it out of reach, racing 56 yards for his final score with 1:55 to play.