Cate football dropped a back-and-forth affair with Orcutt Academy by a score of 54-48 on Saturday in Orcutt.
“We have had to overcome a ton of injuries, and people will say we are too young, but today we kept on fighting to stay in the game and battle back time and time again,” Cate head coach Ben Soto said. “I am proud of the fight we showed to take this game right down to the final whistle.”
The Rams came out of the gates on fire, scoring on two of their first three offensive plays from scrimmage on 62 and 20-yard passing touchdowns by Sam Lambiotte.
Orcutt responded with a touchdown of its own, but Cate maintained a 15-8 lead after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Orcutt rattled off 14 unanswered points before the Rams got back on the board with a 15-yard rushing touchdown by Barron Crayton to tie the game at 22-22 heading into halftime.
The third quarter was all Orcutt, as the hosts scored three more touchdowns while holding the Cate offense scoreless to run away with a 42-22 lead.
However, the Rams did not go away quietly. A 21-yard rushing touchdown by Crayton, a defensive stop and a touchdown catch by Noah Casbarro quickly cut the deficit down to 42-34.
Orcutt settled back in and scored a touchdown of its own to bring the lead back to 14, but Cate punched right back with a touchdown pitch and catch from Lambiotte to Chase Meyer.
The back-and-forth continued as Orcutt scored once again before Lambiotte scrambled into the endzone with one minute to go to inch closer at 54-48 with one minute to play. Cate failed to convert the onside kick, resulting in the Orcutt win.
Lambiotte turned in a monster performance in his first career start, collecting 333 all-purpose yards and having a hand in five touchdowns.
“Sam was fantastic in his first start, and I am hopeful we can build on the positives we had today,” Soto said.
The Rams (2-2) will host Faith Baptist in a non-league game next Saturday in Carpinteria.