Football Game Preview: Costa Mesa Mustangs vs. Santiago Cavaliers

For the first time this season, Costa Mesa will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. After each having a week off, they and the Santiago Cavaliers will shake off the rust and duke it out at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. One thing working in Costa Mesa's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last three contests.

Costa Mesa is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing Century: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that the Mustangs blew the Centurions out of the water with a 54-14 final score. Considering the Mustangs have won four games by more than 39 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.

Costa Mesa can attribute much of their success to Andrew Waiss, who rushed for 131 yards and two TDs on only six carries, and Gavin Garza, who rushed for 201 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.7 yards per carry. Waiss' longest rush was for an impressive 68 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total.

They were just one part of a punishing run game: Costa Mesa was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 342 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 190 rushing yards in four consecutive contests.

On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Costa Mesa's defense and their 6.5 sacks. Leading the way was Yosgart Munoz with three. Another thorn in Century's side was Louis Arreola, who forced one fumble and made ten total tackles (2.0 for loss).

Meanwhile, Santiago ended up a good deal behind Ocean View last Friday and lost 25-6. The matchup marked the Cavaliers' lowest-scoring game so far this season.

Costa Mesa's record is now 4-1. As for Santiago, their loss dropped their record down to 1-4.

Costa Mesa couldn't quite finish off Santiago in their previous matchup back in October of 2024 and fell 24-22. Can the Mustangs avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.