John Uribe passed for 221 yards and two touchdowns Saturday night but it wasn’t enough for SBCC, which dropped a 30-24 APC football decision at L.A. Valley.
The Vaqueros (3-5, 2-2) have suffered a rash of injuries lately and only had four defensive linemen available. Art Gonzalez, the second-leading receiver (35 catches, 595 yards, 6 TDs) is out for the year with a torn ACL.
“We’ve had five knee injuries and we lost Art,” said coach Craig Moropoulos. “It’s unfortunate but it’s part of the game, just like officials and turnovers. You just hope they don’t get in the way of the game but turnovers hurt us again.”
Valley (5-2, 3-0) struck first with a 73-yard drive on its first possession. Dan Owen hit Donte Gilmer for an 18-yard score and a 7-0 lead.
SBCC responded with a 63-yard march in just five plays, capped by a 49-yard connection from Uribe to Anthony Pullman. It was Pullman’s first catch of the season.
Michael Douglas lost a fumble at his own 18 early in the second quarter and the Monarchs used five running plays to get it in the end zone and extend their lead to 17-7. Douglas, who was seeking his fifth straight 100-yard game, was held to 33 yards on four carries.
“The loss is disappointing but by the same token, I was very proud of our guys and how hard they played,” said Moropoulos. “They never gave up. We’ve been in every game except the first one.”
Uribe completed 15-of-26 with two TDs and an interception. The 221 yards pushed him over the 2,000-mark for the season with 2,054.
Alonzo Winn rushed 17 times for 78 yards and a TD while Chad Toocheck caught seven passes for 114 yards and one TD.
Uribe was intercepted in the end zone on a fourth-and goal from the 2 with eight minutes to go in the third quarter. Two plays later, Alonzo Lefridge picked off an Owen pass at the Valley 16. Uribe hit Chris Kordakis for a 13-yard gain on second down and Winn punched it from the 2 to cut the deficit to 17-14.
SBCC got to the Valley 11 on its next possession before settling for a 28-yard field goal by Chaz Dalton that tied the game at 17.
The Monarchs got a 35-yard kickoff return, then covered 55 yards in five plays and regained the lead, 24-17, on a 33-yard pass from Owen to Jon Hilliger.
Vaquero punter Manny Hernandez backed up Valley at its own 5 with a 46-yard punt. But the Monarchs put together a game-clinching drive, covering 95 yards in 17 plays and just over eight minutes to take a 30-17 lead. All but two of the plays were runs and Germi Morrison scored his second TD on an 18-yard scamper with 2:06 to play.
The Vaqueros went 66 yards in eight plays, capped by a 10-yard Uribe to Toocheck aerial that cut the deficit to six with 13 seconds left.
Santa Barbara was 3-6 in red-zone conversions while Valley was 4-4.
Hernandez, the leading tackler in the state, had 13 tackles, including six solo. Sam Shipley, who returned after missing most of the last two games with an injury, had 10 tackles.
“It’s good to have Sam back but we’re struggling with depth right now,” said Moropoulos. “The people that we have are stepping up and playing hard.”
SBCC travels to Glendale on Saturday before finishing the season with a Nov. 6 home date against West L.A.
