Santa Barbara City College’s offense was stuck in quicksand against a strong Ventura team Saturday, as the Vaqueros gained only 52 total yards in a 35-7 loss to the Pirates at La Playa Stadium.
At one point in the third quarter, Ventura had racked up 336 of its eventual 372 yards while SBCC was at minus-two.
So what happened to the offense that had stormed back in the second half to post a monumental 17-14 win over No. 5 Canyons on the very same field the week before?
“Well, if I knew that I’d be a magician,” said coach Craig Moropoulos. “I don’t know. We just didn’t come to play, and Ventura had a lot to do with it. They played very physical on defense and took us out of our rhythm.”
On the ground, the Vaqueros were held to minus-16 yards on 24 attempts, and converted just three of 13 3rd-down conversions.
SBCC's Lamont Dupree makes one of his 13 tackles.
Ventura, meanwhile, racked up 226 yards on the ground and rushed for five touchdowns. The Pirates’ other score was on a 16-yard run by Nick Karam, who lined up as the holder on a field goal but sold the fake and made it to the corner for the touchdown in the second quarter.
SBCC scored with under two minutes left in the first half, as Matt Rachowski partially blocked a punt in the end zone which allowed Lamont Dupree to grab it short and speed 28 yards for a touchdown on the return. Rachowski finished with 11 tackles while Dupree had 13 to go along with an interception in the third quarter.
After the touchdown, however, the Pirates (3-0) marched right down the field and scored to take a 28-7 lead into the locker room.
Moropoulos said that bouncing back from the upset of Canyons may have been a factor.
“It was a challenge for us to respond. It’s tough, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world because I’m proud of what they did last week and I’m proud of how hard they played tonight,” he said. “Defensively we did a great job, but we just didn’t get it done. We’ve gotta get better and we’ve gotta find ways to get things going on offense.”
Freshman quarterback John Uribe completed 12-of-23 passes for 68 yards with two interceptions as he was facing heavy pressure the whole night.
The Vaqueros (1-2) open American Pacific Conference play on Saturday at Antelope Valley, which fell to 0-3 after a 20-12 loss to Chaffey.
Where was the backup quarterback Cale Carson? A great player. Give him an opportunity. Uribe was not doing it on Saturday night. Lets see some changes!! GO VAQS
Where was the backup quarterback Cale Carson? A great player. Give him an opportunity. Uribe was not doing it on Saturday night. Lets see some changes!! GO VAQS
Where was the backup quarterback Cale Carson? A great player. Give him an opportunity. Uribe was not doing it on Saturday night. Lets see some changes!! GO VAQS