Defense was the order of the night on Saturday as SBCC shut down the L.A. Valley attack in the second half of a 14-6 road win in the American Pacific Conference football opener for both teams.
The Vaqueros (2-2, 1-0) won for the second straight week, thanks to a stifling defense that limited the Monarchs (0-4, 0-1) to 22 yards rushing and eight first downs. In the second half, Valley managed just one first down and 31 yards and had three-and-outs on five of its six possessions.
Santa Barbara has allowed just one touchdown in the last two games while outscoring its opponents 55-13. The six points allowed was the best defensive effort since Oct. 3, 2009 when the Vaqueros beat L.A. Southwest 28-3.
“This is a great team win,” said sixth-year head coach Craig Moropoulos. “The best thing about it was when we needed the defense to rise up, they did … several times. That was really rewarding.
“We made some mistakes and shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times on offense. When you can win a game like this, especially a conference game, that’s huge.”
SBCC quarterback Jarred Evans completed 15-of-23 passes for 175 yards and a second-quarter TD.
Linebacker Joel Medina led the defense with nine tackles (2.5 for loss) and a sack. Thomas Borchert added eight tackles while Morgan Nevin had seven. Defensive coordinator Jeff Santarosa praised the play of the defensive linemen Collin Powell, Stephen Brooks, Garin Chobanian.
The Vaqueros snapped a 6-6 halftime tie with a 32-yard, 8-play march that culminated in a 2-yard scoring run by Kevin Denis. Anthony Fullman converted a 2-point PAT run on a reverse, beating two defenders to the left pylon to give the visitors a 14-6 edge with 6:51 to go in the third quarter.
Valley took a 6-0 lead on its second possession with a 12-play, 84-yard drive capped by 16-yard pass from Bradley Hunt to Royce Long. The PAT kick sailed wide right. SBCC tied the game in the second quarter on a 65-yard march that ended with a 33-yard strike from Evans to Kyle Brown up the right sideline. Earlier in the drive, Evans connected with Steven Jerome for a 24-yard gain.
A bad snap on the PAT try led to a lateral attempt by the Vaquero holder. Valley’s Johntez Young scooped up the fumble and returned it all the way to the end zone but the 2-point play was nullified by a block in the back.
Valley had two chances deep in its own territory late in the fourth quarter but Hunt threw six straight incomplete passes.
SBCC dominated the Monarchs in first downs (18-8), total yardage (274-141) and time of possession (36:14 to 23:46).
“It was a defensive battle,” said tight end Tyson Heller, who led the Vaqueros with four catches for 49 yards. “The offense made some mistakes but we’ve had some injuries. It was a good win and we really needed it.”
The Vaqueros covered 57 yards in 16 plays at the end of the third and start of the fourth period. They had a first-and-goal at the 4 but got pushed back by a false start penalty and then a 26-yard field goal by Marcus Hoerberg was partially blocked.
SBCC travels to L.A. Southwest on Saturday for a 6 p.m. contest.
