LANCASTER, CA – The Santa Barbara City College Football team won at Antelope Valley on Saturday, 45-13. The Vaqueros improved to 3-3 on the season and picked up an important conference win.
It was the epitome of a tale of two halves. After a scoreless first half—for both teams—the Vaqueros jumped out to 24 points in the third quarter and 21 in the fourth.
Before halftime, though, SBCC was knocking on the door of the endzone. With roughly two minutes remaining, the Vaqueros had driven the length of the field to earn a 1st-and-goal at the 3. Antelope Valley would come up with a huge stop, stuffing the Vaqueros at the 1-yard-line on 4th-and-goal. It would remain 0-0 into the break.
"It was a little sapped," head coach Craig Moropoulos said about the energy at halftime. "You get there [in a goal-to-go situation] and you got to punch it in. . . . It was gut-check time at that point."
Some odd logistics forced the Vaqueros to remain around the field at halftime, rather than walk across Antelope Valley's campus to a locker room. Perhaps that was an ironic twist of good fortune, or a chip on their shoulders, as SBCC came alive out of the break.
"I challenged the defense at halftime—we got to get takeaways," Moropoulos said. Much more on that soon.
The Vaqueros received the kickoff at halftime, but went three-and-out on their first drive. Antelope Valley then drove 75 yards for a touchdown to finally light up the scoreboard, 6-0.
Terrance Biser-Coleman returned the ensuing kickoff 70 yards, beginning SBCC's next drive at the opponent's 23. A few plays later, on 3rd-and-goal from the 7, after an incomplete pass, Santa Barbara used a timeout.
"The play clock was running down—we wanted to make sure we had the right personnel, the right call, the right formation," Moropoulos justified the timeout.
It worked, as Will Doherty connected with Kayden Chan for a touchdown, and for a crucial momentum swing in the game. After a Hunter Simmons extra point, the Vaqueros now led 7-6.
From there, the floodgates opened.
After an Antelope Valley personal foul after the kickoff, their drive was due to start on their own 8. The Vaqueros forced a fumble on the first play and Matt Croteau recovered it in the endzone for a defensive touchdown, 14-6 Vaqueros.
The first play of Antelope Valley's next drive, Santa Barbara again forced a turnover in the form of an interception, but an offsides penalty kept possession in the hands of Antelope Valley. No worries, though, because on the very next play SBCC forced a fumble, and Jack Myers recovered it on the Antelope Valley 26. After being forced to settle for a field goal, the Vaqueros now led 17-6.
No, SBCC did not force a turnover on the first play of Antelope Valley's next drive for the third consecutive time. They waited a little longer this time, as Kerry Quashijah intercepted a pass on the second play of the drive.
4 plays, 3 turnovers. SBCC's defense accepted Moropoulos' halftime challenge and then some.
"You get really energized when you get the ball back on the plus-25 rather than your own 2," Moropoulos said. "When your defense gives you the ball back after 1 play, that's money."
Jake Foye capped off the ensuing 35-yard drive, rushing hard for a 12-yard touchdown to increase the lead to 24-6. That would remain the score at the start of the fourth quarter.
The situation did get a little more dicey in the fourth quarter, albeit temporarily, despite the Vaqueros' sudden surge.
With Antelope Valley driving, on 3rd-and-5 at the Vaqueros 28, SBCC forced an incomplete pass and then Matthew O'Brien-Rojo recorded a sack on 4th down. Just a turnover-on-downs, this time.
After an SBCC three-and-out, Antelope Valley scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass to shrink the lead to a two-possession game, 24-13. Even more worrisome, an onside kick recovery gave them the ball right back with 6:20 remaining.
However, the SBCC defense still had some of the frenzied energy in them. Ben Antoine intercepted a pass on the first play of the drive, giving the ball right back to SBCC.
The Vaqueros went three-and-out, but forced a 4-play turnover-on-downs on Antelope Valley's next possession ending on Antelope Valley's 24-yard-line. Three plays later, Shaun Smith connected with Cameron Green for a 9-yard touchdown, putting the score at a more manageable 31-13.
Then, the Vaqueros went back to taking forever to force a turnover, wasting one play before Maurice Saulsbury intercepted a deep ball on the second play of the series, returning it 64 yards to the Antelope Valley 6. Shaun Smith then linked up with Kayden Chan for both of their second touchdowns of the day, increasing the lead to 38-13 with just over 1:30 remaining.
Nope, still not done yet.
On the first play of Antelope Valley's next possession, Ajani Cuevas-Gillis had a 48-yard pick six—the defense's second touchdown, and the Vaqueros sixth takeaway, all in the second half. Four turnovers on the first play of a drive, and two turnovers on the second play of a drive. Talk about efficiency!
"I was proud of how our defense responded," Moropoulos boasted. "We also made every field goal and PAT, which was huge for us going forward."
The final score would be 45-13.
Kayden Chan led the way in pass-catching for the second straight week, leading in receptions (6), receiving yards (74), and touchdowns (2). Will Doherty threw for 241 yards and a touchdown, while Shaun Smith threw for 2 touchdowns on just 6 attempts, a dual quarterback system that seems to be working for Moropoulos' offense out of the bye week.
"The key is finding what works for us," Moropoulos said. "Sometimes we don't run as much, sometimes we don't pass as much."
Moropoulos noted that Antelope Valley was stacking the box, making it a point to stop the running game, and forcing the Vaqueros to explore passing the ball a little bit more in the second half. The fluidity and adaptability within the offense gameplan could prove to be a weapon going forward.
"Health is a big thing for us. It's a grind every week," Moropoulos concluded, while looking ahead. "El Camino is very good. Hopefully we're up for it."
SBCC comes back home for a huge conference matchup against 4-2 El Camino at La Playa Field this coming Saturday night at 6:00 PM.
