La Costa Canyon is on its way toward making 2008 great after a disappointing finish to the 2007 season.

The Mavericks, in their regular-season finale, dominated on both sides of the ball in a 41-10 blowout over arch-rival Torrey Pines in last night's Avocado League matchup.

“We just wanted to play good defense and use all parts of our offense,” La Costa Canyon coach Darrin Brown said.

The win means the Mavericks are likely to get the No. 1 seed in the San Diego Section Division I playoffs. But first things first. For the third year in a row, the Beach Bowl surfboard trophy is property of the Mavs as they have seized control of this intense rivalry.

“It's a grudge match, and we know it's a big rivalry,” said Sebastian Frausto, La Costa Canyon's senior quarterback. “The stakes are high in this game, no matter what the record is for both teams.”

Frausto led the way with an efficient 185 yards on 12-of-14 passing, with two touchdowns and no interceptions, to go with 34 yards and a touchdown rushing. Junior wideout Kenny Stills, his main target, caught five passes for 89 yards and a touchdown.

“(I tried to) just be smart with the ball because last week we had too many turnovers,” said Frausto, who had a pair of interceptions last week. “My thing is be smart with the ball, so that's what I did.”

The Mavs also found openings in the ground game. Junior Seth Hanson carried the ball six times for 51 yards and a touchdown – mostly between the tackles – while senior Matthew S. Williams gashed the Falcons on the outside for 51 yards and a score on just four carries.

The Mavs even threw in a little wrinkle. With 26 seconds left in the second half, Brown called the old hook-and-ladder play. Frausto completed a short pass to Williams, who threw a backward pass to Hanson, who broke one tackle on his way for a 20-yard touchdown pass to break the game open.

Not to be overlooked, La Costa Canyon's first-string defense surrendered just a 40-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter.

“They're good,” Brown said of his defense. “They can run to the football, and they're fast. They do their rules. They're hard to score on.”

Senior defensive end Michael Kaiser added the exclamation point as he returned a Falcons fumble 63 yards for the Mavericks' final score.

“I've never scored a touchdown in my life, so it was the best feeling ever,” Kaiser said.

If the Mavericks continue their winning ways, there may be better times ahead.