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    Mira Costa football holds off Villa Park for tough nonleague win
    • September 27, 2025

    MANHATTAN BEACH —  The start to Friday night’s game for the Mira Costa football team was just what a coach could ask for.

    After punting on their first possession, the Mustangs scored on their next four to build a 24-point lead.

    To start the third quarter, however, Mira Costa was brought back to earth a bit as visiting Villa Park got back into the game with consecutive touchdowns, cutting the deficit to nine.

    “We were talking at halftime, these guys (Villa Park) have such a great history and they’re playing in such a tough league (Bravo League), I think everybody knew that they weren’t just going to go away,” Mira Costa coach Don Morrow said.

    The Mira Costa offense responded to Villa Park’s third-quarter charge, a 12-yard touchdown with 9:07 left in the third quarter from Liam Meeker to Hunter Taylor, helping the Mustangs (4-1) regain control on their way to a 34-23 win.

    “I loved the way we came out to start the game,” Morrow said. “I thought that was super cool. Made a lot of tremendous plays. Like one of the guys was saying, it’s never perfect, we probably left several points on the board or on the field, but to hang in there at the end was pretty cool.”

    Trailing 24-0 at halftime, Villa Park (3-2) didn’t waste any time getting on the scoreboard in the third quarter. On the first play of the second half, Vince Lagatta hit Luvie Clark for an 80-yard touchdown.

    On the second play of Mira Costa’s next possession, Villa Park’s Lucas Saenz stepped in front of a Liam Meeker pass and raced 20 yards for a touchdown. The two-point conversion was good and all of a sudden, Mira Costa’s lead was cut to single digits at 24-15.

    Needing a response, Meeker led the way. The senior, who also had an interception on defense, went 3 for 3 on the following drive, ending with the touchdown to Taylor to put Mira Costa ahead 31-15.

    “We came out slow offensively,” Meeker said. “They scored on the first play (of the second half). We knew they were coming, they executed it. After that, I think we responded pretty well.”

    Villa Park didn’t go away quietly. In the fourth quarter, Lagatta connected with Clark again, this time for an 11-yard touchdown and after Lagatta converted the two-point conversion, Mira Costa’s lead was 34-23.

    The Mustangs lost their first game of the season last week to San Juan Hills, who also plays in the Bravo League.

    Talbott opened the scoring for the Mustangs in the first quarter with a 27-yard field goal. On the next possession, Meeker connected with Luke Leonard on a 29-yard touchdown, and AJ McBean capped the scoring outburst with a 33-yard run with 25.4 seconds left in the first quarter.

    Early in the second quarter, the Meeker brothers hooked up with Luke hauling in a 29-yard touchdown from Liam for what looked liked a comfortable 24-0 lead.

    The Mustangs will turn their attention to Bay League play next week, hosting Lawndale. As Morrow said, another five-game gauntlet after the Mustangs’ nonleague five-game gauntlet.

    Villa Park will open Bravo League play against Yorba Linda.

     Orange County Register 

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