It was too much Blake Truhite for Carpinteria’s football in a 56-28 loss at Santa Maria on Friday night in a CIF-SS Division 12 first-round football playoff game.
Truhite ran for three scores, passed for three more and returned a kickoff for another touchdown to lead the Saints into the second round.
Carpinteria tied the scored 7-7 on a touchdown pass from quarterback Vance Keiser to wide receiver Terrell Richardson with 23 seconds left in the second quarter. Tito Arroyo kicked the PAT.
The Saints responded on the ensuing kickoff, as Truhite returned it 99 yards to put them back in the lead for good.
The quarterback made it a 21-7 lead when he hit John Rojas for a touchdown pass with eight minutes left in the second quarter.
Carpinteria (6-5) stayed in striking distance as Keiser and running back Leo Vargas combined on a 60-yard pass play, cutting the deficit to 21-14 with five minutes to go in the first half.
But the Warriors’ defense couldn’t stop Truhite. He and Rojas connected again for a score for a 28-14 lead.
Santa Maria’s defense forced Carpinteria to put after three downs and Truhite went back to work. This time, he hit Gerardo Zul for a 10-yard touchdown with 30 seconds left in the half, giving the Saints a commanding 35-14 lead.
Running back Robert Ruiz made it 42-14 on a 3-yard TD run with 5 minutes left in the third quarter.
The Warriors struck on a third and 9 play, with Keiser firing a pass to Brady Sturdivan for a 69-yard scoring play. That cut the deficit to 42-21 with three minutes to go in the third quarter.
But Truhite came right back and drove the Saints to another score. He finished the drive with a 3-yard run with 1:40 left in the third quarter.
Truhite took the Saints on another drive and finished it with a 5-yard TD run.
Carpinteria got one last score on an 11-yard pass fron Keiser to Sturdivan.
Santa Maria (7-4) will play its second-round game at home next Friday.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.