A familiar foe will kick off the 2016 football season for Santa Barbara City College.
For the first time in five years, the Vaqueros will renew their rivalry with Ventura College. The teams will meet in the season opener on Sept. 3 at Ventura with kickoff at 6 p.m.
"We are excited about returning to the rivalry," said coach Craig Moropoulos. "Ventura has an excellent program and it will be an extremely challenging way to start the season."
Other new teams on the Vaqueros' schedule are Compton (Sept. 24 at Compton, 6 p.m.), College of the Desert (Oct. 1 at home, 4 p.m.) and Citrus (Oct. 29 at home, 4 p.m.), the newest member of the revised six-team American Pacific League.
The Vaqueros open APL play on Oct. 15 with a 2 p.m. game at Hancock.
"Our league will be extremely competitive," Moropoulos predicted.
Moropoulos, who's starting his 10th season as head coach, says the spring football class has been going well. "The guys have been working extremely hard and it has shown with strength and quickness gains," he said.
The Vaqueros went 5-5 last year and tied for third in the APL with a 4-3 record. They return five offensive starters and four on defense.
"Recruiting has gone very well," Moropoulos said, "but as it is every year, we have to keep recruiting all the way until August."
2016 SBCC FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Sept. 3 ………………..…….….… at Ventura, 6 p.m.
Sept. 10 ………………...…….….… WEST LA, 1 p.m.
Sept. 17 ……………….... LA SOUTHWEST, 1 p.m.
Sept. 24 ………………..…….… at Compton, 6 p.m.
Oct. 1 …...... COLLEGE OF THE DESERT, 4 p.m.
Oct. 8 ………………..………....... Bye
Oct. 15 …………………………. *at Hancock, 2 p.m.
Oct. 22 ……….….… *at Antelope Valley, 7 p.m.
Oct. 29 ………………………………. *CITRUS, 4 p.m.
Nov. 5 …………………….….. *at LA Pierce, 6 p.m.
Nov. 12 …………….….………. *LA VALLEY, 1 p.m.
Nov. 19 ………………………….…..…….. Bowl Game
* American Pacific League game
