L.A. Southwest found the end zone four times in the second quarter to build a 27-0 lead on Saturday night and went on to beat SBCC 41-7 in an American Pacific Conference football opener at Los Angeles.
Alonzo Winn, a sophomore from Brentwood, rushed for a career-high 145 yards on 22 carries for the Vaqueros (0-5, 0-1) while Pierre Hale caught five passes for 113 yards. Winn also caught two balls for 40 yards, giving him 185 all-purpose yards.
Santa Barbara posted season bests in first downs (22) and total yards (372). The visitors finished with 12 more yards than the Cougars (2-3, 1-0).
The Vaqueros hurt their cause with four turnovers, including three interceptions and a fumble on the 1-yard line. SBCC was 1-for-5 in the red zone.
“We were moving it up and down the field, then we missed a field goal and fumbled near the goal line,” said coach Craig Moropoulos. “We had three interceptions and you can’t do that against a good team. They hit us for a couple of big plays and it got out of hand.”
Shashaun Alexander completed 10-18 for 168 yards and two touchdowns for Southwest. The Cougars drove 77 yards for their first score, a 1-yard plunge by Ezekiel Graham, and then Alexander connected with Dana Reed on scoring throws of 54 and 45 yards.
Trailing 20-0, SBCC went 68 yards in five plays and had first-and-goal at the 1. After a penalty moved the ball back five yards, the Vaqueros’ fumbled a handoff and Marcus Harrison recovered for Southwest at his own 3.
Harrison picked off a Keegan Robilotta pass on SBCC’s next possession and then the Vaqueros’ roughed the punter on a fourth-down play. Four plays later, Alexander ran three yards for a TD with 0:18 on the clock to give the Cougars a 27-0 halftime lead.
Robilotta completed 8-18 passes for 61 yards with two interceptions.
Winn accounted for 47 yards on a 70-yard march to the Cougar 8 midway through the third quarter. Robilotta’s second-down pass caromed off the hands of a teammate and into the arms of defensive back Travhn Wolfe in the end zone.
Southwest drove 80 yards in nine plays, capped by a 24-yard run that made it 34-0.
SBCC got on the scoreboard with 1:36 to play on a 3-yard run by Chad Wright. Graham returned the ensuing kickoff 82 yards for the Cougars’ final TD.
“We’re not a real confident team right now,” said Moropoulos, whose squad is dominated by freshmen. “We’ve got to find a way to cash in when we get in the red zone.”
The Vaqueros open a four-game homestand on Saturday against Santa Monica at 6 p.m.
