RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA – School is out for the summer, but for Santa Margarita quarterback KJ Costello and teammates, class remains in session.
The 2014 season will usher in a new era for the Eagles, led by their new coach, Rick Curtis, who was hired in December to replace Harry Welch.
With the change in leadership comes a renewed motivation to bounce back from a disappointing 4-6 season and a last-place finish in the Trinity League.
“It is a good time for change,” Costello said.
Last season as a sophomore, Costello completed 100 of 182 passes for 1,478 yards and 12 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He was bothered during league play by a shoulder injury.
The injury and the team’s struggles didn’t scare off the college recruiters. In the past month Costello has received scholarship offers from Florida and Alabama, and he reportedly has nearly a dozen offers overall.
But Costello is mainly focused this summer on learning the Eagles’ new spread offense.
“It is definitely a lot different,” Costello said. “But (offensive coordinator Jeff Grady) is still here, and we ran a lot of the offense last year. … He (Grady) took a solid amount of the concepts from last year and then brought in what he used at Fresno State. So for me, it has been an easy transition.”
The Eagles have had some success on the field, as they advanced to the semifinals of the Air Strike Tournament at Dana Hills in early June.
Today, they will face perhaps their biggest challenge of the summer – the “Battle at the Beach.” The annual 7-on-7 passing tournament, which is hosted by Edison, is loaded with many of the top teams in the CIF-Southern Section, including Mater Dei, La Habra, St. John Bosco, Centennial of Corona, Upland and Serra of Gardena.
“Passing league teaches our skill kids the system that we’re putting in for passing the ball and defending the ball,” Curtis said. “It is also a way to build confidence.”
The Eagles have one of the top returning receivers in the county in senior Kyle Sweet (909 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in 2013). Curtis said he “is probably the best receiver I’ve coached or been around.”
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BATTLE AT THE BEACH
When/where: Saturday, at Edison High
Fan info: Admission is free … pool play (9 a.m.), elimination games (12:15 p.m.), quarterfinals (1:15 p.m.), semifinals (2:15 p.m.), finals (3:15 p.m.) … visit edisonchargerfootball.com for updates.
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But the Eagles are looking for some new faces to step into key roles for the upcoming season. Senior Conner Bianchini and junior Jerome Bohuslavizki were mentioned by Curtis as players to watch.
Curtis, who spent the past 13 seasons at Northwood, wants his offense to feature multiple contributors. In 2010, when Northwood advanced to the Southern Division semifinals, quarterback Ricky Bautista passed for 2,529 yards with 27 touchdowns, running back Shane Boukorras topped the 1,000-yard mark, and four receivers had at least four touchdown catches for the Timberwolves.
Curtis says the Eagles have the potential to be just as versatile and productive.
“Things are going well now,” Costello said. “I think we have 50 days before our first game, so we have a lot of time to perfect it. If we do execute, it will be deadly on the offensive side.”
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
