Dons quarterback Shawn Ramos finds a hole in the first half.
“The Big Game” is always big, but that doesn’t mean it has to be pretty.
Two second-quarter field goals by Matthew Medina provided the only points of the night as Santa Barbara High won the 51st edition of its rivalry with San Marcos 6-0 on Friday at Peabody Stadium.
“We made some adjustments on our defense this week, and we gave ’em a zero up on the board. We held them on some crucial downs,” said Dons coach Jaime Melgoza.
It was a defensive battle, and a defensive player appropriately earned the Gary Blades Memorial Trophy as the game’s MVP. Dons (2-5, 1-0 Channel League) senior outside linebacker Robert Palmer made two big defensive stops in the second half with the Royals in the red zone. The first came on fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line with just over two-and-a-half minutes to go in the third quarter. San Marcos (1-6, 0-1) handed it off to John Kim, who was stopped at the line by a swarm of Dons with Palmer right in the middle.
The second big play came with 2:15 to go. The Royals had first-and-goal at the 10 but were pushed back by penalties, leaving them on the 15-yard-line on second down. Palmer went unblocked and sacked San Marcos quarterback Joe Rivera for a loss of 10 yards. Two incomplete passes later, the Dons took over on downs and ran down the clock.
“I just went in there on sheer willpower. I wanted to get the ball right there,” said Palmer of the sack. “It feels wonderful (to be named MVP).”
Both offenses struggled from the get-go, as San Marcos couldn’t pick up a first down in the first half, gaining a total of just 11 yards before the intermission. The Dons committed 68 yards worth of penalties in the first half with 129 yards of total offense.
“Both teams played hard. It was a sloppy game on our part, certainly, and Santa Barbara played hard. I think they played better and made less mistakes. It’s a tough one to lose,” said Royals coach Jeff Hesselmeyer.
The San Marcos passing game showed some life in the second half, as Rivera connected on a 61-yard pass to Victor Mendez in the third quarter. Mendez caught it with his fingertips and made it all the way down to the 10, but the drive was halted on Palmer’s stop of Kim.
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Rivera also had completions of 21 yards (to Tristan Lake) and 20 yards (to Moises Ochoa) in the second half.
Santa Barbara quarterback Shawn Ramos completed 6-of-7 passes in the second half, finishing with a total of 111 yards on 12-for-21 through the air. He also rushed for 21 yards on 11 carries, while sophomore running back Caleb Hale had a breakout game with 66 yards on 16 carries.
Kim led the San Marcos ground attack with 22 yards on five carries. Mendez caught three passes for a total of 74 yards.
Santa Barbara students rushed the field briefly after the game before the trophy presentation. While it’s only the Dons’ second win of the year, they are officially 1-0 in Channel League play.
“Both teams have struggled offensively, but I just expected us to come out here and play a good game, and that’s what we did,” said Santa Barbara captain Taylor Dawson, a two-way lineman.”It’s not the prettiest game I’ve ever been in, but hey, I’ll take it.”
The television broadcast of the game will be shown on Cox 8 Saturday thru Friday at 12:30 p.m. There will also be 7:30 p.m. showings on Monday and Thursday.
SANTA BARBARA 6, SAN MARCOS 0
San Marcos…0 0 0 0 — 0
Santa Barbara…0 6 0 0 — 6
Second Quarter
SB: Medina 27 FG, 9:34
SB: Medina 35 FG, 4:16
TEAM TOTALS SM SB
First downs 4 15
Rushes-yards 12-14 50-115
Passing yards 121 111
Comp-Att-Int 7-21-1 12-21-0
Punts-avg. 5-23.8 4-28.25
Fumbles-lost 4-1 1-0
Penalties-yards 10-70 11-88
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — SM: Kim 5-22, Rivera 2-(-16), Cruz 4-7, Mendez 1-1. SB: Ramos 11-21, Jellison 8-3, Lopez 7-11, Corrales 6-21, Hale 16-66, Banuelos 1-0.
RECEIVING — SM: Mendez 3-86, Carreno 1-4, Harvey 2-22, Lake 1-21. SB: Bisquera 1-6, Jellison 2-10, Alleraga 1-5, Lopez 1-23, MGonzalez 3-29, Hale 1-16, Stevens 1-5, Jimenez 1-2, EGonzalez 1-15.
TEAM RECORDS — SM 1-6, C 2-5.
Royal Joke! Been to two games this year as an SM Alumn. Homecoming (70-14 loss) and this game. Considering we lost to Nordhoff who has about as many students as Bishop and now lowly SB San Marcos football has become the laughing stock under the direction of Hesselmeyer. I read in the paper that he couldn’t remember who he played last week… That’s what Pot will do to you buddy. What a pathetic offense! Whoever is calling the plays needs to stop. Not stop calling plays, stop football all together. Stop coaching high school, stop coaching YFL (where you belong)… shoot stop watching football. You are not worthy. 4 first downs. FOUR. 11 yards in the first half. ELEVEN! When I come back into town to watch the Royals I expect some sort of pride in what we do. There is none. The coaches gave up on these boys. You owe these seniors a season and a huge apology for thinking anyone could succeed with that sad, uncreative offense. I went to the game with four buddies and WE ALL knew the plays pre-snap. New playbook, new coach!
It takes a big man to make such insulting and hurtful comments anonymously!!. Way to show support to your school, way to be a shining example to our kids!! Enjoy your angry life Rich!
If you’re not angry after that debacle then you must be coach Hess.
San Marcos plays great for one quarter. Then they are weak.
Substitution anybody?