COSTA MESA - Four first-half turnovers could have triggered a psychological collapse with a weaker team.

But Santiago didn’t allow that to become a factor. The Cavaliers came out a different team after halftime and grinded out a 17-14 first-round victory over Costa Mesa in the CIF-SS  Southern Division playoffs on Friday at Estancia High. (Full game stats.)

“We had a call to action, a long halftime talk,” Santiago coach Aaron Shahrestani said. “All year we’ve tried to instill in our kids that we had the best offensive line, and they needed to believe in that.”

The halftime speech must have worked. The line held its blocks, and the Santiago (9-2) offense began to produce.

Held scoreless through two quarters, the Cavaliers didn’t take long to develop a rhythm. On the first possession of the third quarter, the two-headed run game dual running game of seniors Paul Escamilla and Edward Hornsby began to wear at the Mustangs’ front line.

After a 15-yard run from Hornsby to the 1-yard line, senior Harvey Alavez opted for the quarterback keeper and put the Cavaliers on the board.

Santiago didn’t have long to celebrate because on the ensuing kickoff, junior Luis Gomez collected the ball on the 5-yard line and raced 95 yards untouched into the endzone to restore Costa Mesa’s lead, 14-7.

But that would be the last time the Mustangs (5-6) would hit pay dirt score.

After Hornsby was out because of an injury, the workload was shifted to Escamilla. Hornsby had 118 yards on 14 carries.

On the deciding drive of the night, Escamilla was responsible for all 55 yards that set up the winning 21-yard field goal by junior Robert Fernandez.

Escamilla finished the night with 214 yards on 30 carries and a touchdown.

• Click here for full game stats and links to season totals and game rosters.

Contact the writer: preps@ocregister.com