Santa Barbara High’s football team took a 10-7 lead with 3:31 remaining in the first quarter on a 24-yard field goal by Chris Chandler but could not contain the Ventura Cougar juggernaut after that and lost 38-23 Friday at Larrabee Stadium in Ventura.
The Dons’ best weapons this night included quarterback RJ Rosborough, who rushed for 44 yards and threw for 174, and Kenny Foster, who racked up 200 yards of total offense, including 104 yards on eight receptions and a touchdown catch in the fourth quarter.
Foster’s 20-yard reception set-up the Dons’ first touchdown, a four-yard run by Rosborough, and his electrifying 55-yard punt return set up the Dons’ second touchdown, an eight-yard run by Rosborough in the fourth quarter.
“That Rosborough is an outstanding player,” said Ventura head coach Brad Steward, “and you just have to hope to contain Foster.”
After the Dons’ fast start, Ventura responded with 31 unanswered points.
“I was very happy with our start,” said Santa Barbara head coach Jaime Melgoza, “and I told the guys we were going to win at half, but you have to play two halves, and we didn’t.
“We had to make adjustments on defense, and we didn’t,” he continued, “and I thought our special teams let us down a bit.”
Isaac Archibeque did most of the damage on special teams for Ventura, starting with his opening kickoff return of 79 yards for his first career touchdown.
Santa Barbara answered with back-to-back first quarter scores.
Brayden Stuva (13-94) set-up Rosborough’s first score with a pair of 36-yard runs, and Rosborough completed consecutive passes to Chase Chandler and Foster to set-up the next score, a 24-yard field goal by Chandler.
Bolstered by a 30-yard kick return by Anthony Lopez and two big gains by CJ Souter (11-70), Ventura drove to set-up a Ben Mann 25-yard field goal to tie the game at 10 early in the second period. Ventura’s defense stiffened on the next possession and gave the offense the ball at the Santa Barbara 41.
Six plays later, facing fourth and goal at the two, Cougar quarterback Keihan Gibbs (9-18, 92 yards) faked a handoff and rolled right before firing to tight end Dylan Gutierrez for his first completion of the game and the go-ahead touchdown.
The Dons responded with a drive but missed a 33-yard field goal just before intermission.
Archibeque struck again at the start of the second half, recovering a perfect on-side kick by Mann at the 42.
Joe Mendoza, crowned homecoming king during halftime festivities, pulled down a fourth down Gibbs pass to keep the drive alive at the 25. Kaybrum Evans then took a flanker screen 20 yards for a Ventura TD, Anthony Vazquez throwing a key block at the five.
Three plays later Archibeque, who also wrestles for the Cougars, stripped a Santa Barbara rusher and recovered the fumble, setting up a four-yard touchdown pass from a scrambling Gibbs to the homecoming king, Mendoza, who worked his way open in the back of the end zone.
Four minutes later, with 1:46 to play in the third quarter, Ventura capped its 31-0 run and essentially put the game out of reach with a 48-yard touchdown pass to a streaking Evans from Gibbs, who set-up the flyer with a pair of short completions in the flat to start the drive.
VENTURA 38, SANTA BARBARA 23
Channel League
Santa Barbara 10 0 0 13 — 23
Ventura 7 10 21 0 — 38
First quarter
V: Archibeque 79 run (Mann kick), 11:47
SB: Roseboro 4 run (Chandler kick), 9:05
SB: Chandler 24 kick, 3:31
Second quarter
V: Mann 25 kick, 10:24
V: Gutierrez 2 pass from Gibbs (Mann kick), 3:00
Third quarter
V: Evans 20 pass from Gibbs (Mann kick), 10:35
V: Mendoza 4 pass from Gibbs (Mann kick), 5:48
V: Evans 48 pass from Gibbs (Mann kick), 1:46
Fourth quarter
SB: Roseboro 8 run (Chandler kick), 4:48
SB: Foster 6 pass from Roseboro (kick failed), 0:48
TEAM TOTALS SB, V
First downs 15 11
Rushes-yards 142 134
Passing yards 174 96
Comp-Att-Int 15-27-0 10-20-0
Sacked-yards lost 1-10 0-0
Punts-avg. 4-153 3-115
Fumbles-lost 2-2 0-0
Penalties-yards 8-64 6-46
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING ?SB: Rosborough 13-44, Stuva 13-94, Foster 2-4, Perez 1-0; Vta: Souter
11-70, #25 6-9, Gibbs 5-28, Lopez 1-18, Galindo 3-7.
PASSING ?SB: Rosborough 15-27-174; Vta: Gibbs 9-18-92, Stanley 1-2-4
RECEIVING ?SB: Jimenez 1-7, Chandler 3-24, Foster 8-104, Perez 3-50; Vta:
Galindo 1-4, Evans 4-47, Gutierrez 2-7, Mendoza 3-38.
MISSED FIELD GOALS ? SB: 33.
