Glendale scored 14 points in the fourth quarter on Saturday night to rally past SBCC 24-17 and spoil the Vaqueros’ final home football game of the season.
It was the third straight loss for Santa Barbara (6-3, 3-3 APC) after a 6-0 start. Marquise McGuire ran for 170 yards on 32 tries for Glendale (6-3, 4-2), which also uses the nickname Vaqueros.
SBCC punted the first six times it had the ball before Brandon Nicastro blocked a punt for a safety that cut the visiting Vaqueros lead to 7-2 with 6:22 to go in the second quarter. Santa Barbara took a 10-7 halftime lead on a 2-yard run by quarterback Josh Martin and a 2-point PAT pass that bounced off Arnell right to Giovanni Sanders.
Martin completed 14-of-30 passes for 167 yards and a TD. Glendale’s Sean Murphy was only 2-for-20 for 29 yards in the first half and finished 9-35 for 169 yards with two interceptions.
Glendale won the first-down battle 24-13 and ran 93 plays for 396 yards while SBCC got off 64 plays for 211 yards.
Glendale was backed up on its 1-yard line in the third period when Murphy connected with Isaiah Bernard on back-to-back bombs that covered 44 and 46 yards. They had first-and-goal at the 9 but settled for a 25-yard field goal by Dan Blackford that tied the game at 10.
“You have to take care of the ball and be able to stop a team when they’re on their own 6-inch line,” said coach Craig Moropoulos.
SBCC regained the lead, 17-10, on a 52-yard TD pass late in the third quarter. Martin threw a short pass that deflected off a defender and into the arms of Jacob Arnell, who sprinted to the end zone for his ninth TD. Arnell caught five balls for 86 yards.
SBCC committed 11 penalties for 100 yards.
“The one that really hurt us was the penalty after the PAT,” said Moropoulos, referring to an unsportsmanlike conduct call that forced his club to kick off from its own 20. “That gave them field position and was a real momentum changer.”
Murphy completed passes for 17 and 22 yards and Glendale covered 63 yards in 7 plays. The visitors tied the game at 17 on a 1-yard QB sneak by Murphy on the third play of the fourth quarter.
Santa Barbara turned the ball over on three straight possessions in the fourth quarter, losing a fumble and throwing two straight interceptions. Linebacker Marcus Tappan returned the second pick 20 yards for a TD that put the visitors ahead 24-17 with 9:06 remaining.
Following an SBCC punt, Glendale ran off the final 7:45 with a 17-play, run-dominated drive that covered 61 yards. The march was aided by a roughing-the-punter penalty early in the drive that gave Glendale a first down at its own 34.
Morgan Nevin, the top tackler in the state, and Travis Butts had 13 tackles apiece for the hometown Vaqueros and Jake Pettit had 12, including five solo. Tavonte Jackson had six tackles and two interceptions.
Tim Gleeson, the No. 1 punter in Southern Cal, kicked nine times for a 38.9 average for Santa Barbara. His long was 54 and he had six punts inside the 20.
SBCC finishes the regular season on Saturday with a 1 p.m. game at West Los Angeles.
