Costa Quarterback Duel Could Go into the Season

The start of the prep football season is only a day away, and most position battles have taken shape, some going down to the wire. And then there is the quarterback situation at Mira Costa High.

With the Mustangs set to begin their season on Friday against Los Angeles Loyola High, Coach Don Morrow and his staff still have not settled on a starting quarterback.

"We have a little bit of a precedence in having multiple talented quarterbacks,"Morrow said. "Two years ago we had Kyle Demarco and Adam Lawrence and that was a great competition, but we still only went with one."

Demarco eventually won the starting job and enjoyed a very successful two years under center for the Mustangs, winning a CIF Western Division championship last season.

The competition to replace Demarco and inherit the signal-calling duties has been competitive with seniors Dennis Falcone and Dalton Crawford engaging in a friendly, but spirited battle throughout the spring and into the summer.

"The competition has been neck and neck,"Morrow said. "In general we want to go with one guy, but each quarterback has been getting better and better with their reads and execution and it's too close to call."

The Mustangs held an intrasquad scrimmage last Friday, and while there was some thought that the scrimmage might shed light into who would be starting the opener against Loyola, there has been no determination yet.

"In all fairness, both Dalton and Dennis have been working hard and doing a lot of good things," Morrow said. "They deserve an opportunity to lead the offense and both will probably play Friday night."

During summer passing camps and scrimmages, the Mustangs' passing game has looked formidable, with quarterbacks completing a very high percentage of their throws, eclipsing 80 percent in recent scrimmages. Morrow stressed that while he is pleased with the progress the two quarterbacks have made, it doesn't mean too much until the games start.

"We liked what we saw on Friday, but when your first team offense goes up against the second team defense you hope that they will be effective," Morrow said.

While the quarterback position will be undecided going into Friday, one thing that is certain is that the Mustangs will rely on a talented stable of running backs to carry their offense.

The Mustangs have shown a commitment to the running game during the summer and feel well-equipped to keep pressure off the passing game by incorporating a run-first philosophy.

"Regardless of who it is [at quarterback], we don't expect to need to throw the ball 30 or 40 times and need them to put up 300-yard days," Morrow said. "Our running game should provide great balance."

Tajes Mobley is the leading returning rusher, gaining nearly 300 yards last season, and more than six yards per carry. Steve Giovatti, Alec Weaver and Brandon Edmonds also will be called upon for significant carries this season.

In addition to the depth at tailback, the running game will be bolstered by nose guard J.R. Tavai, who should be a force in short yardage situations potentially lining up at both fullback and tailback.

"We have a good committee of backs, I think all of our guys are really capable and they will all get a chance to carry the ball, if someone gets the hot hand during a game then even better," Morrow said.

The Mustangs will be challenged by a talented running back across the line as Loyola's Jared Baker has been drawing attention from Pac-10 teams and runs behind an experienced and stout line that helped him gain an average of 145 yards per game last season.

"Slowing their run game down will be a definite challenge for us, their lead back has great speed and we need to control that," Morrow said.

Loyola recently scrimmaged with Orange County powerhouse Mater Dei and should present a nice early season test for Mira Costa.

"Our team has grown a lot on both sides of the ball with all the new faces on this team," Morrow said. "It will be great for us to get a chance to see how our team stacks up against some good well-coached opponents."