Costa Mesa High

The West Huntington Beach Oilers bounced back from their first loss of the season by rallying past the Newport-Mesa Knicks, 44-31, in a boys Division I National Junior Basketball game at Costa Mesa High. Trailing by four points at the half, the Oilers outscored the Knicks, 30-13, to win going away. The victory also atoned for last week's loss to the Newport-Mesa Lakers, as West Huntington Bach ran its record to 5-1 overall. The ball handling of cousins Jonathan and Trevor Schuesler set up numerous inside scoring opportunities for the Oilers, who received 15 points from Chris Potrykus and 14 from Tim Hoffman, who led the team in scoring.

HB Break Away, a girls'  Under-12 AYSO Plus team, captured first place in its division at the McMillan AYSO Plus Tournament in Costa Mesa. The team played four games over the Labor Day weekend, with their three victories coming by shutout. The games were played at Costa Mesa High. HB Break Away outscored their four opponents, 13-1, en route to the title. They shutdown Corona del Mar (4-0), Tustin (5-0) and Mission Viejo (3-0). Their only blemish was a 1-1 tie against Newport Beach.

Team Neighbor, a local girls' youth basketball team, won the championship in the 16-and-Under Division at the American Roundball Corp. Tournament. The tournament was played last weekend at various gym sites in Orange County. In the division championship game Sunday at Segerstrom High in Santa Ana, Team Neighbor defeated the Valley Explosion of the San Fernando Valley, 31-15. Michelle Lewis of Team Neighbor led all scorers with 14 points. Team Neighbors began the tournament in pool play action and, behind a stingy defense and balanced scoring, posted a 33-13 win over the Balboa All-Stars of Encino at Liberty Christian High.

Ten times this season the Huntington Beach Jr. Pee Wee Division Green Chargers have come up with a ferocious effort, and each has seemed more impressive than the previous. Saturday in Pop Warner Football postseason play, the Green Chargers whipped the Santa Margarita Red Titans, 33-0. The victory was the 10th by a shutout this year for undefeated Huntington (10-0), which now moves on to a second-round playoff game Saturday against Norwalk at 9 a.m. at Costa Mesa High. A 42-yard scoring run by Robert Rice, followed by a 75-yard TD run by Trevor Borkowski, began the scoring for Huntington, and the league's stingiest defense took over from there.

Corona del Mar High outshot Newport Harbor, 224-284, in a nonleague match Tuesday at Newport Beach Country club. The Sea Kings were paced by medalist Katie McKitterick with a 3-under 38. Courtney Wright shot 43. Jonna Kim and Jessica Milner shot 47 and Kelly Kwata finished up with a 49. Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor will match up again Thursday at Big Canyon Country Club at 3 p.m. Sailors improve to 6-0 ...

Some of the Southland’s top prep girls’ volleyball teams will play at five county sites beginning Friday as the 2007 Dave Mohs Tournament begins. Hosted by Edison High, matches will be played at Edison, Newport Harbor, Corona del Mar, Fountain Valley and Costa Mesa. In addition to Edison, Huntington Beach is the other local school competing in the tournament. Tournament action begins with pool play at 3:30 p.m. Friday, continues with more pool play at 8 a.m. Saturday and concludes with division championship matches on Monday.

Last year the Costa Mesa High boys water polo team swiped the Golden West League crown away from Saddleback. Tuesday, Saddleback probably took it right back. It's too early for Saddleback (10-5, 4-0) to claim the league title as its own, but the team took a huge dive in the right direction with a 13-8 victory over visiting Costa Mesa (12-5, 2-1). "October 11 has been circled on my calendar since I got the schedule," Saddleback Coach Monte McCord said.

The word "rebuilding" commonly has a negative connotation attached to it, but first-year Costa Mesa High boys cross country coach Daniel Gonzalez doesn't see it that way. He sees both what the future holds for his team and the present. And a successful future means a successful present. "We have a very young but talented team," said Gonzalez, who was named both the girls and boys coach at Costa Mesa in May. "We need to have big success this year for bigger goals for the following year."

Out of the 25 girls in the Costa Mesa High girls golf program, 18 have never touched a golf club before. So first-year coach Tom Baldwin, who is serving as the head girls golf coach for the first time after being the school's football coach last year, has his work cut out for him. Baldwin enlisted former coach and old friend John Clurry as his assistant. "I don't expect to win it all, but I don't expect to come in last," said Clury. Clury met Baldwin when he was 10 years old and played football for him at Santa Ana Valley High.

Jim Kiefer, who coached the Newport Harbor High baseball team for six seasons from 1996 through 2001, has been named baseball coach at Costa Mesa High. Kiefer, who spent the last two seasons as a varsity assistant for the Sailors and two seasons prior to that as an assistant at Servite, replaces Dave Austin. Austin guided the Mustangs to a 9-15-1 record, 2-9-1 in the Golden West League in his only season at the helm. "I'm very excited about the position and prospects for the program," said Kiefer, 35, who is also teaching math at Costa Mesa.

Some of the Southland’s top prep girls’ volleyball teams will play at five county sites beginning Friday as the 2007 Dave Mohs Tournament begins. Hosted by Edison High, matches will be played at Edison, Newport Harbor, Corona del Mar, Fountain Valley and Costa Mesa. In addition to Edison, Huntington Beach is the other local school competing in the tournament. Tournament action begins with pool play at 3:30 p.m. Friday, continues with more pool play at 8 a.m. Saturday and concludes with division championship matches on Monday.

Ten times this season the Huntington Beach Jr. Pee Wee Division Green Chargers have come up with a ferocious effort, and each has seemed more impressive than the previous. Saturday in Pop Warner Football postseason play, the Green Chargers whipped the Santa Margarita Red Titans, 33-0. The victory was the 10th by a shutout this year for undefeated Huntington (10-0), which now moves on to a second-round playoff game Saturday against Norwalk at 9 a.m. at Costa Mesa High. A 42-yard scoring run by Robert Rice, followed by a 75-yard TD run by Trevor Borkowski, began the scoring for Huntington, and the league's stingiest defense took over from there.

HB Break Away, a girls'  Under-12 AYSO Plus team, captured first place in its division at the McMillan AYSO Plus Tournament in Costa Mesa. The team played four games over the Labor Day weekend, with their three victories coming by shutout. The games were played at Costa Mesa High. HB Break Away outscored their four opponents, 13-1, en route to the title. They shutdown Corona del Mar (4-0), Tustin (5-0) and Mission Viejo (3-0). Their only blemish was a 1-1 tie against Newport Beach.

Team Neighbor, a local girls' youth basketball team, won the championship in the 16-and-Under Division at the American Roundball Corp. Tournament. The tournament was played last weekend at various gym sites in Orange County. In the division championship game Sunday at Segerstrom High in Santa Ana, Team Neighbor defeated the Valley Explosion of the San Fernando Valley, 31-15. Michelle Lewis of Team Neighbor led all scorers with 14 points. Team Neighbors began the tournament in pool play action and, behind a stingy defense and balanced scoring, posted a 33-13 win over the Balboa All-Stars of Encino at Liberty Christian High.

The Costa Mesa High football team has lost its six games this season, but Mustangs Coach Jay Johnson believes his squad has faced seven opponents. "We've held ourselves back," said Johnson, whose unit visits the Santa Ana Bowl Saturday at 7 p.m. for a Golden West League clash against Santa Ana. The Saints (3-2, 2-0 in league) are tied with Westminster atop the league standings. Westminster topped Costa Mesa, 47-6, Friday, dropping the Mustangs to 0-6, 0-2. Costa Mesa has lost eight straight, dating back to last season.

Last year the Costa Mesa High boys water polo team swiped the Golden West League crown away from Saddleback. Tuesday, Saddleback probably took it right back. It's too early for Saddleback (10-5, 4-0) to claim the league title as its own, but the team took a huge dive in the right direction with a 13-8 victory over visiting Costa Mesa (12-5, 2-1). "October 11 has been circled on my calendar since I got the schedule," Saddleback Coach Monte McCord said.

The Costa Mesa High football team lost its Golden West League opener last week, but the Mustangs may have gained their offensive identity. Coach Jay Johnson's squad (0-5, 0-1 in league) will try to assert its newfound offensive confidence Friday against visiting Westminster, at 7 p.m. at Orange Coast College. Mesa, decimated by early injuries, had struggled mightily for the first 4 1/2 games of the season, scoring just three offensive touchdowns in its first 18 quarters.

Costa Mesa High's boys water polo team played a decent first half Tuesday. Then, it turned the third period into shooting practice as if Santa Ana wasn't even in the pool. The Mustangs scored the first two goals of the match in opening 44 seconds by senior Kyle Thorsness on assists from Sam Edman and Nick Fisk as Mesa coasted to a 20-9 Golden West League win. Later in the first period, Thorsness added two additional goals. Santa Ana, down 4-0, scored its first goal at 1:45.

In the freshman Battle for the Bell, one side rang proudly and loudly; the other side, more of an awkward clang. Costa Mesa High's tandem of Tony Johnson and Dakota Lambert accounted for six Mustang scores and dominated the field in Thursday's 48-6 Golden West League opener over Estancia. Johnson, the Mustang quarterback, scored on runs of 42 and 19 yards and completed his only pass 62 yards for a score in the third quarter. Lambert scored on two runs of 2 yards each, and returned a punt 75 yards to tally 18 of Mesa's points.

The early season struggles of football teams from Costa Mesa High and Estancia have mirrored one another. So, as the two crosstown and Golden West League rivals prepare to collide Friday at 7 p.m. at Orange Coast College, the only mirror either is interested in is the one that reflects a rear view. "Somebody has got to win," Estancia Coach Brian Barnes said of the 39th edition of the Battle for the Bell. Costa Mesa, which has seen its top two quarterbacks and a returning all-league tailback go down with injuries, enters the league opener 0-4. The Mustangs have lost six straight, including an 18-13 setback to Estancia in the regular-season finale last fall.