Santa Barbara's Efren Sanchez finds some open space in the first half on Friday night. (Presidio Sports Photo)
Fullback Rudy Corrales said that Santa Barbara High’s mantra all week was to “protect our house.”
Corrales aided that effort by protecting running back Cheroke Cunningham and racking up some yards of his own in a 27-6 win over visiting Beverly Hills on Friday Night, ending a 3-year losing streak to the Normans.
Cunningham ran for 140 yards on 24 carries, picking up the Dons’ last touchdown in the fourth quarter thanks to a textbook one-on-one block by Corrales. Cunningham took a pitch to the right from 14 yards out, and his 5-foot-8, 170-pound fullback made sure he had a clear path.
“It’s really good to block for a great young running back like him,” said Corrales. “I was in his position last year, and I got his back. I tell him to just follow me.”
But Corrales can’t stay in front of the slashing sophomore speedster forever, and Cunningham broke into space on long runs of 21 and 40 yards in the first half. Heading into the intermission, he had 98 yards on 14 carries. Corrales took some of the load off of Cunningham by tallying 69 yards on 11 carries.
“He’s not the biggest guy, you know, but he just runs and works hard every day and it’s starting to pay off for him,” said coach Jaime Melgoza of Corrales.
The passing game was flat for both offenses, but Santa Barbara’s conservative approach to airing it out kept them safe. Beverly Hills (0-1) wasn’t as lucky, throwing two interceptions. Santa Barbara’s Efren Sanchez put the Dons (1-1) up 19-0 just after the half with a 19-yard interception return, and Matthew Gonzalez killed any chance of a Beverly Hills comeback with a pick in the fourth quarter that led to Cunningham’s touchdown.
Santa Barbara’s defense set the tone on the very first play, when a hard tackle on the opening kickoff led to a Beverly Hills helmet rolling out of the pile. The Normans were threatening in the red zone early in the second quarter when the Dons forced a fumble near the goal line and Jason Jimenez fell on it in the end zone for a touchback. Lineman Carlos Orozco also got in on a handful of key tackles during the game.
The Dons struck first on a 23-yard field goal by Matthew Medina midway through the opening quarter. Quarterback Shawn Ramos punched in a one-yard sneak in the second to push the lead to 10-0, and Medina put through a 35-yarder after that to send the game into halftime with the Dons up 13-0. Sanchez’s interception return made it 19-0 as the PAT was blocked.
Beverly Hills scored on an 11-yard run by Jason Castro late in the third quarter, but the PAT was blocked. Cunningham’s late scoring run was followed by a Ramos pass to Emilio Gonzalez on a 2-point conversion to end the night’s scoring.
The Peabody Stadium scoreboard was out of order throughout the game, but the Santa Barbara students stormed the field after hearing the referee’s final whistle.
Although he was dunked by his players after the game, Melgoza was his unassuming self when sharing his thoughts.
“I think we’re starting to play more as a team. We’ve got a long, long ways to go. It’s just one game,” he said.
Next week is certain to be a challenge, when the Dons head north to play defending CIF-champion Lompoc.
“We’re gonna have the same mentality. We’re just gonna head up there and play hard and see what goes on,” said Corrales.
SANTA BARBARA 27, BEVERLY HILLS 6
Beverly Hills…0 0 6 0 — 6
Santa Barbara…3 10 0 14 — 27
FIRST QUARTER
SB — Medina 23 FG
SECOND QUARTER
SB — Ramos 1 run (Medina kick)
SB — Medina 35 FG
THIRD QUARTER
SB — Sanchez 19 INT return (kick blocked)
BH — Castro 11 run (kick blocked)
FOURTH QUARTER
SB — Cunningham 14 run (Ramos to Gonzalez conv.)
TEAM TOTALS BH SB
First downs 8 15
Rushes-yards 24-96 37-212
Passing yards 25 7
Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-0
Penalties-yards 10-70 11-88
TEAM RECORDS — BH 0-1, SB 1-1.
