COSTA MESA, CA – The Santa Barbara City College Football team improved to 2-1 on Saturday, defeating Orange Coast College 48-14 on the road.
The final score is a tad misleading, as the Vaqueros led just 20-14 early in the third quarter but pulled away significantly late. A strong offensive showing in the second half contributed to the lopsided final, along with another consistent performance by the defense and special teams.
The game began with a bang, as Maurice Saulsbury returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for an SBCC touchdown. It was the second kickoff return touchdown for the Vaqueros in consecutive weeks.
"Special teams is a huge part of who we are," head coach Craig Moropoulos said. "At practice, we condition first then go right into special teams work."
The next 5 minutes got messy, as both teams turned the ball over and failed to take advantage of scoring opportunities.
SBCC's Malachi Smith forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and Christian Guarascio recovered it on the opposing 17-yard-line. However, the Vaqueros missed a field goal and gave possession back to OCC.
The Vaqueros then forced a punt, but two plays later, a fumble recovered by Orange Coast gave the opponents good field position at the Santa Barbara 32. They also could not take advantage, missing a 38-yard field goal. After the dust settled, it was still 7-0 Vaqueros.
"In one sense, we're creating opportunities," Moropoulos said, "in another sense, we're giving them opportunities."
Early in the second quarter, quarterback Will Doherty threw his first touchdown of the day, connecting with Mitchell Northcutt to increase SBCC's lead to 13-0. Shortly after, Joseph Olsson blocked a punt for the once again dominant Vaquero special teams unit, and Cameron Green caught a 29-yard touchdown to make it 20-0 SBCC.
After the Vaquero defense forced another Orange Coast 3-and-out, SBCC had decent field position in the Orange Coast half of the field with roughly 6 minutes remaining in the second quarter. Two plays later, Nathanial Lyken intercepted a pass for OCC and returned it 63 yards for a touchdown, decreasing the SBCC lead to 20-7.
The Vaqueros went into the half leading with that score, their defensive unit solid once again, not allowing a point. Through the first three games of the season, SBCC has allowed 7 points or less in all but two quarters—the first quarter in week 1 against Fullerton, and the fourth quarter week 2 against Saddleback.
"Firstly, you've got to stop the run. I'm really proud of how we've done that," Moropoulos said of his defense. "It all starts with nose guard Grant Hessler, then Benji Rodriguez, then the next level to Matt Croteau, and so on."
On the pick-6 before halftime, Moropoulos said, "I told [quarterback] Will [Doherty], 'the measure of you is going to be in the second half.'"
Orange Coast began the second half with a touchdown drive, the score now 20-14 Santa Barbara. That would be the last time OCC would score.
David Smith rushed for a 15-yard touchdown to cap off an 8-play drive with roughly 4 minutes left in the third quarter. The SBCC kickoff coverage team then stopped Orange Coast at their own 9-yard-line, and the defense forced a 3-and-out. Terrance Biser-Coleman returned a short punt 39 yards for another special teams return touchdown for SBCC, who now led comfortably 34-14.
After another 3-and-out forced by the Vaqueros, Doherty threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Ryles Buckley on 3rd and 15 at the start of the fourth quarter. Two SBCC drives later, Doherty threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ryan Gillum on 4th and goal, increasing the lead to 48-14, where it held.
Will Doherty did measure up well in the second half and had his best game yet, completing 18 of 36 passes for 192 yards and 4 touchdowns with the lone interception.
"Ryles Buckley made one of the greatest catches I've ever seen," Moropoulos said of his touchdown reception.
Overall, 4 different SBCC receivers caught a touchdown and 10 had at least one reception.
"It's 100% depth," Moropoulos said. "No matter how far ahead we are, we're still going to spread the ball around."
Moropoulos made it a point to discuss the humility of his young quarterback, who watched film with Cameron Green early the morning after the game. The SBCC bus did not get back in to Santa Barbara until 1:00 AM.
"He didn't have to come in on a Sunday morning at 8:00 AM—he's an 18-year-old," Moropoulos spoke proudly of his quarterback. "And Cam Green is an outstanding player, he's the focal point of our offense."
On a night when all three phases clicked for the Vaqueros, especially special teams and defense, it bears mentioning how important punter/kicker Brandon Bowers is to this team.
Bowers had 200 yards of punting for his third consecutive game and had 3 punts inside the 20. He is averaging around 40 yards per punt in each of his two seasons at SBCC. Bowers is a huge weapon for the Vaqueros in terms of field position.
"It absolutely does not go unnoticed," Moropoulos said with high praise. "He was a stud for us last year; and he holds, and he kicks off, too. He's a lot like Mitch [Wishnowsky, current punter for the San Francisco 49ers and punter on the 2014 SBCC Football team]."
The Vaqueros will try to build on this win next Saturday against Canyons at La Playa Field, their first conference matchup of the season.
