Maybe Santa Barbara High football coach Doug Caines needs to drive the bus, too.
Caines had his team prepared for last Friday?s game at Rio Mesa in Oxnard. What he wasn?t prepared for was a late bus and a late pregame meal for the team.
Speaking at Monday?s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon at Harry?s, Caines said his team arrived at Rio Mesa 60 minutes before kickoff. The Dons scrambled to get ready and then pulled out a 26-14 victory to improve to 3-1
?The guys battled the adversity of being late and not getting a normal warmup,? Caines said. ?I told them to be like grown men: take care of business, take care of your family and take care of your job.?
Santa Barbara returns to Peabody Stadium on Friday for its homecoming game against Centennial of Bakersfield.
Caines said playing a team like Centennial will better prepare it for the rigors of Channel League play.
?We welcome the challenge,? he said.
Caines brought inside linebacker and fullback Rudy Corrales, who, he said, makes an impact with his technique, attitude and demeanor.
The coach also brought punter Alberto Hernandez, who is averaging more than 55 yards a punt.
Dan Feldhaus, the athletic director at Dos Pueblos, said the Chargers gave two-time defending CIF champion Lompoc a battle in the second half of their 31-14 loss.
?The final score didn?t indicate how close it was,? he said. ?We feel (that game) is going to make us better. Playing a tough Lompoc team is going to help prepare us for the tough teams in the Channel League.?
Feldhaus introduced offensive lineman Alec Marno, who carries a 4.7 GPA, and receiver Robert Gulvin, who caught a touchdown pass in the Lompoc game.
San Marcos coach Anthony Linebaugh said Friday?s 40-20 victory at Hueneme was a ?very important next step? for the Royals. ?We talk about the importance of moving forward, no matter what.?
Linebaugh was joined by Athlete of the Week Esteban Alfaro and running mate Julio Martinez. Both are team captains.
He said Martinez made a great open-field tackle on a third-down play that forced Hueneme to punt, and the Royals wound up scoring on their next possession.
On Alfaro, the coach said his rushing total could have been up to 275 yards but he had a run called back on a penalty. He finished with 196 and scored two touchdowns,
Carpinteria football coach Ben Hallock introduced Ian Craddock, who plays quarterback, free safety and handles the place-kicking duties, and lineman Jacob Barbieri, whom he lauded for his hustle blocks down field on long running plays.
Hallock said the Warriors play at Santa Clara in Oxnard this Friday and one of the quirks about playing there is PAT kicks can be taken on only one side of the field. ?They must have a mean dog or something on the other side,? he quipped.
Bishop Diego is coming off a win over Santa Clara, which was the 70th in the coaching career of Tom Crawford at the school. Athletic Director Dan Peeters introduced lineman and senior captain Keegan Araujo and running back Abel Gonzalez. Gonzalez, a sophomore, has scored six touchdowns and is averaging 9 yards a carry.
Laguna Blanca football coach Shane Lopes brought senior linebacker Joey Eckert and sophomore quarterback Stephen McCaffery.
SBCC coach Craig Moropoulos said his team is exciting and fun to coach. The Vaqueros put on an exciting show in beating Compton 41-7 last Friday.
Moropoulos introduced Tyson Heller, whom he described as one of the finest tight end in the state, and tough-guy defensive end Collin Powell out of Dos Pueblos High.
CROSS COUNTRY
Leslie Wiggins Roth of Dos Pueblos was thrilled with the progress of her girls team. She noted the squad was 15th in the varsity division at the Woodbridge Invitational last year with star runner Addi Zerrenner and finished in the same position this year with Zerrenner running in the sweepstakes race.
Sophomore Elaine McClure was 1 minute, 20 seconds faster at Woodbridge and Tatianna Schluep improved her 5k time by 15 seconds from the Seaside Invitational to Woodbridge.
DP boys coach Len Miller sang the praises of Andrew McQuan and Bryan Fernandez. Fernandez beat a state cross country champion and a state 3200 champion in winning the boys race at Woodbridge.
McQuan is the Chargers? No. 3 runner. Miller said he was given the nickname ?Mr. Amazing? after making an improvement of 7:20 on the Channel League finals course between his freshman and sophomore years,
The team now gives a weekly award called Mr. Amazing.
The Chargers host the first Channel League on their upper and lower athletic fields on Wednesday.
San Marcos coach Lawrence Stehmeier said his boys learned a lesson in staying focused for an entire race.
?At the Lompoc Invitational, our No. 1 and No. 2 runners were leading by 100 feet and decided to not make a turn, even though they saw it and just kept going,? Stehmeier said. ?We stopped them and turned them around. With that we would have been first.?
The Royals finished second in the race.
The girls team stepped up at Lompoc while the No. 1 and 2 runners sat out with injuries. Stehmeier praised Jewel Fisher and Jordan Jenkins for leading the team that day.
From the boys team, the coach brought Matt Haden and Eric Salas.
Santa Barbara High coach Todd Ruskuff brought four runners who earned medals at the Ojai Invitational: Isabelle Demachkie, Christian Koran, Eric Woods and James Scheuermann.
Providence Hall Lisa Goodin said she and her husband (and 7th month-old baby) are ?establishing a culture of personal excellence? in the cross country program. She introduced Cooper Shead, a returnee from last season, and newcomer Eric Sheets, who has earned the No. 1 spot on the team. He earned a grade-level medal at Ojai.
Carpinteria runners Leticia Cruz and Lalo Garcia are both three-sport athletes.
SBCC sports information specialist Dave Loveton said the cross country team will be hosting the SBCC Invitational on Oct. 12 and the Western State Conference Championships on Oct. 23.
VOLLEYBALL
Bishop Diego coach Jason Donnelly couldn?t make to the luncheon, but he had a great excuse: he and his wife were having their first baby on Monday.
Peeters did the report and said Lauren Underwood and Emily Lash are the team?s senior leaders and point producers at the net. Underwood is a outside hitter and Lash a middle attacker.
Westmont coach Patti Cook has her team off to a 15-1 start. The lone loss came against NAIA No. 3-ranked Lee University. She cited several players who have made a difference on the team: Kristin Schroeder out of San Marcos, Candice Adama, Ciara Turner and Madison Serrano.
The Warriors are ranked 8th in the NAIA.
Cook is being assisted by retired UCSB coach Ken Preston.
Santa Barbara High is 5-4 after playing in the Archbishop Mitty Tournament in San Jose.
?We got a lot of matches and good experience,? said coach John Gannon.
He introduced senior captain Emma Mascari, who has developed into an all-around player, and defensive and serving specialist Maykala Ford.
Gannon said Ford?s short service is a great weapon. ?We get points off her short serve all the time,? he said.
San Marcos? Marilyn Hantgin said the Royals? varsity game against Hart last week was so exciting she missed her son?s back to school night to stay and watch it.
?This is one of the best teams we?ve had in a long time,? she said.
The Royals are 3-0.
Hantgin introduced Jenny Swanson and Charlotte Garratt.
Wiggins Roth, speaking for DP volleyball coach Todd Garrett, brought Mia Cattaneo and Marina Boulanger. The Chargers finished eighth at the Mitty Tournament.
Jim Alzina of Laguna Blanca said the Owls are going for their 11th straight Condor League title. He introduced three-year varsity players Bella Taron and Courtney O?Donnell.
Providence Hall coach Dale Colburn said the Lions are playing their first season in the Condor League. He introduced four-year setter Lacey Gonzalez and senior outside hitter, middle blocker Liz Beebe. Both are team captains.
Carpinteria Athletic Director Pat Cooney said Allie Sundara and Maddie Hanley are key players for the coach Katie Julian.
The SBCC women?s volleyball team is playing the role of road warriors. Thirteen of their first 14 matches are away from home.
