The visiting Otay Ranch Mustangs went up 14-0 in the first quarter on two touchdowns by David Mondy and used a 16-point second quarter to take a comfortable 30-7 halftime lead in handing Anthony Lacsina his first head coaching victory.
“It felt good to get the win, I’ll be honest about that,” Lacsina said with a laugh. “The kids played really well.”
The Mustangs (1-1) essentially put the game away in the second quarter as Billie Bechtel split the uprights on a 37-yard field goal, Marques Roberts scored on a 24-yard run and Andre Jones reached the end zone on a 45-yard jaunt.
Serra’s lone score came on a 32-yard interception return by Demonte Fagan.
Otay Ranch closed out the game with two rushing touchdowns in the final quarter. Dominique Canez scored on a four-yard run while Dustin Downs scored on a two-yard run.
The Mustangs racked up 453 yards in total offense, including 392 rushing yards on 40 carries. A total of 10 players pitched in on the running game, with Mondy gaining 100 yards on 10 rushing attempts and Ernie Hicks piling up 83 yards on seven carries. Jones had 73 yards on five carries.
Mondy also had two catches for 45 yards while John Dumaran had one punt return for 43 yards.
While the Mustangs scored often, the team’s defense had much to say about the outcome of the game. “Our defense has really given up only one touchdown all year, including our opener at Elsinore,” Lacsina said.
Kyle Doton was a monster on the field with nine tackles, three tackles for losses, two caused fumbles and one quarterback sack. “He had a great game,” Lacsina said of Doton.
Albert Lopez was credited with seven stops while Lauvai Tufele was credited with six stops. Tufele, Doton and William Bobier each had one sack. Tufele also had one interception.
The Mustangs host Mission Bay, last year’s Division IV champions, in a non-league contest Friday at Chula Vista High School at 7 p.m. to kick off their home schedule. The Bucs are 0-1 after dropping a 38-0 game to visiting Valhalla in the teams’ season opener on Sept. 3.
