Running back Leo Vargas set a school record for rushing yards in a single game as the Carpinteria Warriors walloped Trinity Classical Academy in a 44-12 non-league homecoming matchup at Carpinteria Valley Memorial Stadium.
Vargas carried the ball 22 times for 315 yards with six touchdowns, surpassing Sean Lohse’s 1991 record of 297 yards. Vargas set the record with 15 carries less than Lohse. All but 35 of the Warriors’ 350 yards were gained by Vargas.
“The line did a good job, I did my job, everyone did their job,” explained Vargas. “It was a good game.”
The Warriors (4-3) got off to a hot start as Alberto “Tito” Arroyo booted a 25 yard field goal to open the scoring, and Vargas scored a 20-yard touchdown after Lorenzo Jaime intercepted Trinity quarterback Phineas Yi.
Vargas scored his second touchdown early in the second quarter on fourth down from the 2-yard line to put Carpinteria up 16-0.
“He’s getting stronger as he’s going,” claimed Carpinteria head coach Rick Candaele. “He’s really taking it seriously.”
Carpinteria then forced turnovers on downs on back-to-back Knights possessions, and Vargas broke his longest scoring run of the night, a 59 yard rumble into the end zone to give the Warriors a 23-0 halftime lead.
Trinity Classical (2-5) came out of the locker room rearing to go in the second half, stringing together a six-play, 80-yard touchdown drive as Yi connected with running back Carson Campuzano for a 30 yard score. Yi completed the game with 154 yards passing and one touchdown, and 70 yards rushing on 13 carries.
Carpinteria lineman Jose Alvarado managed a sack, forced fumble, and fumble recovery on the same play to set up Vargas’ fourth touchdown of the night, a 27-yard scamper around the right end.
The story remained the same for the next few Knights’ possessions, as Jacob Macias and Jaime intercepted Yi on back-to-back drives setting up Vargas touchdowns of 55 and 10 yards. Vargas’ final score came with over nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Knights would find the end zone one more time before the game ended, as backup quarterback Rick Roberts connected with Will Howell for a 34 yard touchdown with :25 remaining.
Due to the running-clock, Carpinteria didn’t have to run another play. The Warriors take on 5-2 Malibu next week in each teams’ Frontier League opener.
“It’s nice to be 4-3,” said Candaele, who’s Warriors started the season 2-3 before back-to-back wins.
“It’s the best record we’ve had in a while,” said Vargas. “We’re working on a league championship.”
— Noozhawk sports reporter Christian Eckert can be reached at ceckert@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports and @noozhawk. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.