PHOTOS: Costa Mesa rallies for win over Arroyo Valley, advances to CIF Division 12 semifinals

Costa Mesa senior quarterback Mathew Barrientes sneaks a key pass to wide receiver Ziggy Babovic late in the second quarter that would set up a Mustangs touchdown right before halftime. (PHOTOS: Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone)

Costa Mesa erased a double-digit deficit and stormed back to defeat Arroyo Valley 27-20 in a  CIF Division 12 quarterfinal round playoff game on a rainy Friday night at Costa Mesa. 

The Mustangs (7-5) advance to next Friday’s semifinal game and will host Lakeside, which defeated Ontario 24-20.

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“This win is unbelievable for the school, fans, players, coaches and community,” said Costa Mesa Coach Gary Gonzalez. “Our football teams have had some down years. We didn’t win a playoff game from 1997 to 2024 and we haven’t been to a semifinal game since Myron Miller was here in the early 1990s, so for us to be going to a semifinal game is huge.”

The game started to look bleak for the Mustangs late in the first half, following a 38-yard pick-six interception return for a touchdown by Isaac Watts, giving Arroyo Valley a 20-7 lead. 

However, Costa Mesa quarterback Matthew Barrientes entered the game and ignited the Mustangs’ comeback on the final drive of the half. 

Barrientes completed six of seven passes and capped off the drive with a 16-yard TD pass to Jack Shafiyoon on the final play of the half, cutting the lead to 20-13 at the break.

The touchdown was set up a clutch fourth-down, 37-yard pass play from Barrientes to Ziggy Babovic, who was able to make the catch by the sideline, deaked a defender, and ran a tight-rope to the Hawks’ 16-yard line.

“It was a great comeback win,” said Barrientes, who completed 15 passes for 200 yards and threw two touchdowns a ran for a touchdown. “The O-line played amazing and gave us time so guys could to make plays.” 

On Costa Mesa’s first possession of the second half, Barrientes guided the Mustangs 68 yards in 10 plays for a game-tying score.

A key play on the drive was a 34-yard pass play from Barrientes to Brian Marinovich. Barrientes capped the drive with a 10-yard TD pass to Naiuli Fetalaiga that tied the score at 20-20 with 5:53 left in the third quarter. 

The Costa Mesa defense, led by Ruben Sanchez, Ayden Watson, and Louis Arreola dug in and started to take over and held the Hawks scoreless for the remainder of the game.

Late in the third quarter and into the fourth quarter, the Mustangs went on a 13-play, 77-yard drive that was highlighted by Barrientes passing and Gavin Garza’s hard-nosed running. Barrientes finished off the scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, putting Costa Mesa ahead 27-20 with 8:31 to play.

“Even when we were down by two touchdowns, we never gave up,” said Garza, who rushed for 109 yards. “We believed we could do it. This is quite a turnaround from a couple of years ago when we went 1-9. Now, we’re going the semifinals.”

Costa Mesa was trying to ice the game and the Mustangs went for a first-down on fourth-down with the ball near midfield. Arroyo Valley stopped the Mustangs and took over. However, Arreola and Sanchez came up big to shut down the Hawks’ attack. Sanchez tackled running back Ty Hunter on a fourth-down run and Costa Mesa took over possession and ran out the clock.

“We were excited and pumped up on their last drive,” said Sanchez. “We knew we couldn’t let them score and we made big plays and stopped them.” 

The Hawks (7-5) only attempted one pass in the game. The Mustangs have won four consecutive games and have outscored their opponents 138-30 during the span. 

Costa Mesa took the opening kickoff and marched 70 yards in eight plays. Aidan Quintos raced in from five yards to cap the drive and give the Mustangs a 7-0 lead at the 7:56 mark of the first quarter. 

Late in the quarter, Arroyo Valley running back Cayden Davis broke a 91-yard run touchdown run. The Hawks missed the 2-point conversion and trailed 7-6.

Following a Costa Mesa turnover, the Hawks took the lead following an 18-yard TD run by Sonny Perez. Arroyo Valley converted the 2-point conversion and led 14-7 with 10:06 remaining in the second quarter.  

The Hawks increased their lead to 20-7 with 1:19 left in the half, following Watts interception for a touchdown. 

“Give Costa Mesa credit, they were hard to push around and they made adjustments and we didn’t,” said Arroyo Valley Coach Jesus Centiceros. “We also killed ourselves with penalties.”