Lompoc (4-0) edged crosstown rival Cabrillo (2-1) 49-48 in a back-and-forth shootout Saturday at Huyck Stadium, with senior Noah Kinard scoring the go-ahead touchdown and grabbing a game-sealing interception in the final seconds.
The star running back’s two-way effort helped the Braves overcome a roller coaster of momentum swings, including a 15-point halftime advantage that vanished in a furious Cabrillo comeback.
“We made some mistakes, but I thought Trevor made some really good throws,” Lompoc head coach Andrew Jones said. “I think we can be a dangerous offense if we can actually throw more, and I think he showed that today.”
Junior quarterback Trevor Thompson, making his first start of the season, threw three touchdown passes as Lompoc improved to 4-0.
Cabrillo retook the lead behind four rushing touchdowns from senior Andre Brisco in the second half and led 48-35 with just over three minutes remaining.
Lompoc answered with a trick-play touchdown and a fumble recovery to stay alive, setting up Kinard’s last-minute touchdown.
Cabrillo started their final drive with just over a minute left, but Kinard stepped in front of a deep pass to secure the Braves’ undefeated start.
“Anytime you can beat Cabrillo, it’s a great team win. We had a horrible third quarter, but we stepped up,” Jones said. “We got down two scores there at the end, and we kept fighting.”
Cabrillo struck first on the opening possession, as senior running back Jacob Baraceros broke free for a touchdown in the first minute of play. The Conquistadors missed the extra point but held an early 6-0 lead.
Lompoc quickly responded as Trevor Thompson connected with junior Stone Kubasiewicz for a touchdown on the Braves’ first drive. Senior Jackson Taylor added the extra point to make it 7-6 with 5:47 left in the quarter.
With just over a minute remaining, Noah Kinard added to Lompoc’s momentum, slipping through the line for a rushing touchdown. The extra point pushed the Braves’ lead to 14-6 heading into the second quarter.
Kinard scored again early in the second quarter, taking a handoff 19 yards up the middle for his second touchdown of the game and extending Lompoc’s lead to 21-6 with 6:57 left in the half.
Cabrillo responded with a sustained drive that started at its own 28-yard line and included a key 4th-and-4 conversion. Andre Brisco capped the series with a short touchdown run to make it 21-13 with 1:47 remaining.
Thompson led one more scoring drive before the break. With 11 seconds left, he found senior Kasch Kubasiewicz for a touchdown that sent the Braves into the locker room with a 28-13 advantage.
“We made a couple of mistakes to let that one get away from us,” Cabrillo head coach Dave Fleming said.
Brisco opened the second half with a touchdown run, spinning through defenders to cut the lead to 28-20 with 9:07 remaining.
“Defensively, there were so many times we had them at 3rd and long and we gave up a 10-yard run, so we gotta fix some tackling and alignment,” Jones said.
After a defensive stop, Cabrillo put together another quick scoring drive as Brisco broke loose for his second touchdown of the quarter.
Despite two false start penalties on the Conqs, senior quarterback Gabriel Barraza connected with senior Marcus Nash on a two-point conversion that electrified the away crowd and tied the game at 28-28 with 5:25 remaining.
“[We] came back when we were down and fought all the way to the end,” Fleming said.
Following the game-tying score, the Conquistadors surprised Lompoc with a short kickoff and senior Talon Simpson jumped on the loose ball to give Cabrillo possession in Braves territory at the 32-yard line.
Brisco capitalized with his fourth touchdown of the night, a 6-yard run that gave Cabrillo its first lead since the opening minutes. The extra point made it 35-28 with 3:30 left in the quarter.
The Braves were intercepted late in the quarter by senior Dominic Carlson, giving Cabrillo full control of the momentum heading into the fourth.
Lompoc began the fourth quarter with a methodical drive, and Thompson connected with Kasch Kubasiewicz for their second touchdown hookup of the night. The extra point tied the game at 35-35 with 9:30 remaining.
Cabrillo answered quickly as Barraza found Garcia for a touchdown, and although the extra point was missed, the Conquistadors went back in front 41-35 with 5:47 left.
Just over a minute later, Carlson intercepted a Braves pass for the second time, setting Cabrillo up with another chance to extend the lead. In a display of athleticism, Brisco effortlessly weaved through defenders and delivered his fifth touchdown of the night, stretching the margin to 48-35 with 3:15 remaining.
“Hats off to Cabrillo, Coach Fleming does a hell of a job with those guys, and that running back over there is special,” Jones said. “We haven’t seen anybody like that all year with that type of speed.”
On the ensuing kickoff, Lompoc turned to trickery. Kasch Kubasiewicz caught a lateral and cut right before pulling up to throw a forward pass across the field to sophomore Nelson Brown, who caught it in stride and sprinted to the end zone. The play went for a touchdown that cut the deficit to 48-42 with 3:03 to play.
Cabrillo recovered the onside kick attempt and began the drive near midfield. After a penalty backed them up, the Braves forced a fumble and sophomore Reza Lemmel recovered it at the Cabrillo 38-yard line with 2:36 left.
Lompoc drove deep into Cabrillo territory with a series of quick connections between Thompson and Kasch Kubasiewicz. After securing a crucial first down catch, Kinard finished the series by punching in a 4-yard touchdown with 1:06 remaining. Taylor added the extra point to give the Braves a 49-48 lead.
Cabrillo started its final drive at the 33-yard line with just over a minute to play. The Braves’ defense came up with a pair of key stops, including a pass breakup by Stone Kubasiewicz, before a facemask penalty on fourth down gave the Conquistadors new life near midfield.
On the very next play, Kinard read the route and stepped in front of a deep pass, securing the interception at the 44-yard line with 18 seconds left.
Lompoc kneeled out the clock to seal a thrilling 49-48 comeback victory, a fitting end to a frenzied fourth quarter that saw them erase a 13-point deficit and ultimately reclaim the lead.
“You know we are starting like seven sophomores, so we are an extremely young football team,” Jones said. “They got some grit, they got some fight in them and you combine that with the older guys we have on the team, and we continue to try and get better each and every week, we have a chance to be a decent team.”
Cabrillo (2-1) hosts Taft (1-3) on Thursday, Sept. 18, at 4 p.m. at Huyck Stadium in Lompoc.
“Just keep going, put it behind us, it’s going to be a tough one to swallow,” Fleming said of the mindset going forward.
Lompoc (4-0) hosts Fresno’s Justin Garza High School on Friday, Sept. 19, at 4 p.m. at Huyck Stadium in Lompoc.
