The 43rd annual Santa Barbara County All-Star Football Classic had all the exhilaration of one of the thrill rides at the County Fair that was going on next door to Santa Maria’s Ralph Baldiviez Stadium on Friday night.
The excitement lasted until the final horn as the North scored the go-ahead touchdown in the last 31 seconds and then held off a last-gasp comeback try by the South for a thrilling 28-21 victory before 2,500 fans.
The North, which took the series lead 20-19-1, overcame a scrappy South defense that forced four fumbles and two interceptions and scored a touchdown.
“Our defense came up with play after play after play,” South coach Ben Hallock of Carpinteria raved. “They did a great job and our special teams kept us in good field position and got us out of trouble.”
But with the score tied at 21, the South offense couldn’t take advantage of the last turnover created by its defense — a fumble recovery by Dos Pueblos’ Shane Taylor with 5:07 to go — and went three and out. Manny Hernandez of San Marcos gave the defense a boost when he boomed a 60-yard punt to put the North at its 28.
The South defense, however, was running out of steam and St. Joseph’s Jacob Cano took full advantage. Cano hit Jason Buchanan and Matt Miller with passes covering 47 yards and he scrambled on a couple of plays for 18 yards to put the North at the 5-yard line.
On second-and-goal, the North’s offensive MVP spotted Miller for the eventual winning touchdown with 31 seconds left.
“It was a mismatch,” said Miller, who caught six passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns and was voted the game’s Most Valuable Player. “We knew it was going to be a slant and as soon as Jake looked that way I was wide open and he just threw it.”
Cano was one of three quarterbacks used by Santa Maria coach Mike Regan. The other QBs were Righetti’s T.J. Jordan and Pioneer Valley’s Nick Rucobo. Jordan passed for 197 yards and two touchdowns, and Rucobo ran for the first score of the game, so Regan felt it was only right to let Cano have a shot to score.
“It was his turn to get a touchdown. That’s how we shared the wealth,” said Regan.
The South got the ball back at its 36-yard line with 30 seconds to play, but Santa Barbara quarterback R.J. Rosborough could complete only one pass and the game ended.
“We just couldn’t find that play to get it to click and get going,” Hallock said. “But our guys were playing awfully hard. We had a man down in the line (Will Lopez of Santa Ynez) and only had five offensive linemen. We patched it together and the kids came through in the end.”
Rosborough twice brought the South back from deficits. In the second quarter, he completed a 20-yard scoring pass to Rowan DiMase of Santa Ynez to knot the score at 7-7. In the fourth quarter, he hit DP’s Cory Micheel with a beautiful floating ball up the left sideline and then fired a pass to Kyle Miller of San Marcos for a game-tying two-point conversion.
“We were surprised at how we came out and played,” said Rosborough, the South’s offensive MVP. “We had a positive outlook the entire time, but in the end the North had a lot of athletes and a lot of athleticism.”
The North struck first in the game following a crushing hit by safety Matt Miller on the South’s Kyle Miller, who was running down the left sideline for a pass.
The North drove 67 yards behind the running and passing of Jordan. Rucobo entered on a second-and-goal from the 9 and fooled the South defense on an option play that resulted in an untouched run into the end zone at 1:33 in the first quarter. Garret Dudock kicked the PAT for a 7-0 lead.
The South tied the score after an interception of a Jordan pass by Robert Thornton of Carpinteria at midfield.
Rosborough replaced starter Tyler Shean of Santa Ynez and guided the South to a touchdown. On a third-and-8 from the North 30, he sidestepped a defender and cooly hit Jeremy Stein for a 10-yard gain. On the next play, Rosborough found a wide open DiMase of Santa Ynez in the end zone. Corey Micheel converted the PAT and the score was knotted with 8:45 left in the second quarter.
The South defense forced its third turnover of the first half when Cano coughed up the ball and Tommy Pena recovered at the North 28.
The North defense stepped up and the South missed a 36-yard field goal attempt wide to the left with five minutes left in the second quarter.
The North lost the ball again as the South’s Cameron Donner recovered a fumble by Jordan at midfield. But the North defense, led by Cabrillo’s Andre Chavoya, the team’s defensive MVP, stifled the South offense again.
A 44-yard punt by Hernandez put the North back at its 10.
Hernandez and Jeremy Stein combined for an average of 44 yards on nine punts.
Despite the bad field position, the North was able to find holes in the South defense and made some big plays. The biggest play was by Cano, who while being tackled by Cate School’s Ugo Nwasike flipped the ball to running back Michael Hale of Righetti. He scooted 34 yards to the South 2 with 3.4 seconds left in the half.
After a timeout, the North elected to go for the touchdown. Lined up in a full-house backfield, the ball was snapped to Rucobo, who handed it Hale sweeping right.
Nwasike stuffed the play and the half ended with the score tied 7-7.
“It was just reading my keys and getting to the ball,” said Nwasike of the play.
Starting the second half with a flea-flicker for 47 yards, the North would take a 14-7 lead on its first possession, driving 80 yards on eight plays. Daniel De La Cruz scored on a 25-yard pass from Jordan.
Another 44-yard punt by Stein pinned the North back at its 5 and the field position would pay dividends for the South. On the first play, Anthony Jackson fumbled a handoff and Nwasike recovered in the end zone for his first defensive touchdown.
“I really didn’t realize it was a touchdown at the time,” said the South’s defensive MVP. “I jumped on the ball and I felt everyone poking at me. Then I saw all my teammates surrounding me and realized it was a touchdown.”
The South missed the extra point, leaving it behind 14-13,
But it would battle back and make the game exciting to the end.
Rosborough finished 9-for-19 passing for 112 yards. Cano was 8-of-9 for 165 yards. Hale was the game’s leading rusher with 108 yards on 23 carries.
South…0 7 6 8 — 21
North…7 0 7 14 — 28
First quarter
N — Nick Rucobo 9 run, Garret Dudock kick, 1:33
Second quarter
S—Rowan DiMase 20 pass from R.J. Rosborough, Cory Micheel kick, 8:45
Third quarter
N —Daniel De La Cruz 25 pass from T.J. Jordan, Garret Dudock kick, 8:35
S — Ugo Nwasike recovered fumble in end zone, kick failed, 6:05
Fourth quarter
N — Matt Miller 34 pass from T.J. Jordan, Garret Dudock kick, 6:50
S — Cory Micheel 24 pass from R.J. Rosborough, Kyle Miller pass from Rosborough, 5:00
N — Matt Miller 5 pass from Jacob Cano, Garret Dudock kick, :31
Did anyone else see #14 Puente from the North flip off the South bench after the North scored to make it 21-13?