VENTURA — Santa Barbara learned what it’s like facing a CIF top-five football team.
Undefeated Ventura dominated the line of scrimmage, running back Conner Armstrong tore through the Dons’ defense for 256 yards and two touchdowns, and the Cougars contained Cheroke Cunningham in a 34-14 win at Larrabee Stadium that gave them a share of their first Channel League title since 1996.
The Cougars, the No. 5-ranked team in the CIF Western Division, improve to 9-0 and 3-0. They can clinch the league crown outright next Friday at San Marcos.
Santa Barbara had a three-game winning streak snapped and falls to 4-4 and 1-1 in league play.
The Dons struggled to get their offense going all night. A swarming Ventura defense had a lot to do with it. The Cougars bottled up the inside and got great penetration to prevent Cunningham from getting a head of steam. The sophomore running back, who came into the game with more than 1,000 yards, was held to a season-low 81 yards on 22 carries, most of which came late in the game.
“They had a nice noseguard and their backers were playing tough,” Santa Barbara coach Jaime Melgoza said of Ventura’s defense. “They were bringing a lot of guys in the box. We just couldn’t figure out where they were coming from, and we made a couple of mistakes and that hurt us.”
“We shut those guys down and we were on them the whole game,” said Ventura coach Brad Steward.
On containing Cunningham, Steward said, “The guy’s a tremendous back. If you don’t key on him, you’re crazy.”
Melgoza gave Ventura props.
“I thought we put the right scheme together,” he said. “Some nights it just doesn’t work. We tried everything in the book, we just couldn’t get a rhythm going. That was a really good team, they play really hard, they have a good offense and a good defense.”
Besides stuffing the Santa Barbara running game, Ventura harassed quarterback Shawn Ramos throughout the first half. Ramos didn’t play in the second half due to tightness in his back, according to Melgoza.
“I didn’t want to risk him, so I brought in Matt Gonzalez and I thought he did a great job,” Melgoza said.
On a team full of offensive weapons, Armstrong was Ventura’s most explosive against the Dons. Behind great blocking from his offensive line and wide receivers, the 5-7 senior zigged and zagged all over the field for big chunks of yards. He carried the ball 33 times.
“I love getting the ball,” he said. “I couldn’t have done it without my offensive line and my receivers working with Rodney, our quarterback. I feel they stepped up big time. This was a huge game for us, for the Channel League.”
His running set up all five Ventura scores.
“I thought this was Conner’s best game of the year,” Steward said. “Three times I commented, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s his best run of the year.’ I was really impressed by the job the O-line did and I was impressed with his ability to see the holes and work through them. He always runs hard.”
Armstrong took over the game after the Cougars twice were denied from scoring on pass plays deep in Santa Barbara territory in the first quarter. Bradford Jellison broke up a Rodney Stanley pass to Hunter Winans in the end zone on fourth down from the 24, and later Mark Mendoza of the Dons picked off a pass at the goal-line.
Santa Barbara couldn’t capitalize on the turnover and punted back to the Cougars. Starting at the 44, Armstrong rushed six times for 39 yards on the drive and caught a pass for 2 yards. He broke the scoreless game with a 1-yard TD run with 9:47 left in the second quarter.
The Dons showed life on their next possession, as Ramos found tight end Emilio Gonzalez for gains of 21 and 27 yards. But the drive ended when Ventura’s Patrick Kim intercepted a long pass intended for Cunningham.
The Cougars responded with a 76-yard drive. Running back Leo Camacho made it 14-0 with a 26-yard run.
Santa Barbara’s Fernando Arrellano picked off another Stanley pass, and Cunningham followed with a 12-yard run. But the Dons’ momentum was squelched when Kim intercepted Ramos for the second time.
With time running out in the first half, Stanley threw deep and the pass was picked off by Efren Sanchez as the half ended.
Armstrong and the Cougars punished the Dons’ defense in the second half. He bolted for 30 yards on a 69-yard opening drive and scored a 5-yard run for a 21-0 lead.
On Ventura’s next possession, Armstrong had a 19-yard run to set up a 4-yard touchdown pass from Stanley to Winans to make it 28-0.
Santa Barbara got on the scoreboard early in the fourth quarter when Jason Jimenez picked up a fumble and ran it back 67 yards for a touchdown.
The Dons recovered an onside kick and rode the wave of momentum to another touchdown. Cunningham scored it on a 14-yard sweep on the left side.
Ventura recovered the next onside kick and turned Armstrong loose again. He broke free for a 34-yard gain to the 3, and Stanley scored two plays later to put the game away.
“I thought we had a good chance to do it if we came together,” said Steward about winning the Channel League. “All the pieces were there, but the kids have done a good job working hard in practice and becoming a team. All the pieces wouldn’t have worked if they hadn’t bought into the team concept and being unselfish.”
For the Dons, it’s all about bouncing back and playing for a CIF playoff berth.
“We have to continue playing up, and now our next goal is to try and make the playoffs,” Melgoza said. “We’re back at home for two games and we got to play some football.”
Santa Barbara…0 0 0 14 — 14
Ventura…0 14 14 6 — 34
Second quarter
V—Armstrong 1 run, Lanski kick
V—Camach 26 run, Lanski kick
Third quarter
V—Armstrong 5 run, Lanski kick
V—Winans 4 pass from Stanley, Lanski kick
Fourth quarter
SB—Jimenez 67 fumble return, Medina kick
SB—Cunningham 13 run, Medina kick
V—Stanley 1 run, kick failed.
