No. 6 Canyons shuts down Vaqueros

Sophomore quarterback Andrew Brito threw for 324 yards and four touchdowns on Saturday night, leading No. 6 Canyons to a 63-0 football shutout of SBCC.

The Cougars (3-0) scored 28 points in the second quarter to build a 35-0 halftime advantage in Santa Clarita. Brito was 17-for-24 in the first half for 308 yards and TDs of 10, 21, 30 and 8 yards.

The Vaqueros (1-2) were shut out for the first time in nearly seven years, dating back to a 27-0 setback to L.A. Valley on Nov. 22, 2011.

Santa Barbara lost starting quarterback Gerald Hickson to a season-ending knee injury last week. Former Santa Barbara High star Jeremiah Nicholson made his first college start and completed 8-of-23 passes for 42 yards. Will Bayonne picked up 52 rushing yards on 13 attempts.

Canyons dominated in first downs, 34-7, and total yards, 670-94. The Cougars are No. 2 in the state in yards per game (520.3) and No. 7 in scoring (43.0).

The Cougars led 7-0 after a quarter, then erupted for four touchdowns in 10:08 on drives of 39, 50, 76 and 71 yards. They scored three more TDs in the third period on three short runs, extending the lead to 56-0.

"The first quarter was back-and-forth, then they got loose," said SBCC coach Craig Moropoulos. "Canyons is a very good team. We had trouble sustaining things on offense."

Eight of the Vaqueros' first nine possessions ended with punts and they punted 13 times in the game.

Isaac Lopez led the defense with six tackles. Defensive back Javan Gail had five tackles and forced a first-quarter fumble that he recovered at the Cougars' 33. The Vaqueros were held to five yards on three plays and Martin Ahlstroem missed a 46-yard field goal.

The Vaqueros will host Citrus (2-1) on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Owls dropped a 14-10 decision at Palomar on Saturday night. Citrus is the No. 10 scoring team in California, averaging 43.0 points.