Marvin Millett rushed for 137 yards on just seven carries and scored two touchdowns, and SBCC exploded for 29 points in the fourth quarter, rallying for a 49-21 victory at Antelope Valley College in an American Pacific League football game on Saturday.
The win was the seventh in a row for the Vaqueros (7-1, 5-0), tying the single-season school record. They’ll go for a record eighth straight next Saturday at Santa Monica.
SBCC trailed 21-20 going into the fourth quarter as Antelope Valley capitalized on a pair of turnovers and scored two touchdowns. The Vaqueros, however, took care of business in the final 15 minutes. After Sage Ritchie blocked an AVC punt to end the third quarter, SBCC reclaimed the lead on a 12-yard touchdown run by Cedric Cooper, with Cooper carrying a defender into the end zone. Millett ran around the left side for a two-point conversion and a 28-21 lead.
“We were trailing and we really needed a stop,” said Ritchie of the blocked punt. “The shield man went to the other side and it opened up and I just sprinted through. The offense really picked up and Brandon Edwards got the ball going.”
“That blocked punt really changed the momentum. Those kind of things make a difference,” said SBCC coach Craig Moropoulos.
A fired-up SBCC defense forced a three and out and the Vaqueros took over at the AVC 45. On the sixth play of the drive, Edwards threw a wide receiver screen pass to Royce Finley and he took 14 yards for a touchdown and a 35-21 lead with 11:10 left in the game.
SBCC was now in full control of the game. After another three and out by AVC, Millett took a handoff and bolted 51 yards for his second touchdown of the game. The lead was now 42-21. He had a 58 yarder in the first half.
“Marvin is a great kid, he’s done what we asked him and he deserved a shot,” said Moropoulos. “He does a nice job of cutting back and that’s the sign of a good running back.”
Prescott scored on a 6-yard run to make it 49-21.
SBCC rolled up 463 yards of offense and 23 first downs. The running game compiled 302 yards.
On defense, the Vaqueros held AVC to zero yards rushing.
SBCC got off to a great start, going up 17-0 in the first quarter. Blake Levin kicked a 33-yard field goal, Millett tore through the AVC defense for a 58-yard touchdown run and Edwards passed 15 yards to Elijah King for another score.
Then the turnover bug hit. Kenny Solivere scooped up a fumble and returned it for a touchdown to put AVC on the board, 17-7.
SBCC responded with a 20-yard field goal by Levin with 41 seconds left in the quarter to make it 20-7.
The defense scored again for AVC as Corey Frisby caught a ball that popped in the air after a big hit on Edwards and returned the interception 10 yards for a touchdown. That cut the SBCC lead to 20-14.
The Vaqueros fumbled on their first possession of the second half and AVC capitalized. The Marauders scored on a 1-yard run and took a 21-20
AVC had a chance to expand the lead with a field goal, but SBCC’s Khaliel Ahmed Shegog blocked the 33-yard attempt. That play gave the Vaqueros new energy and they dominated the rest of the way.
