San Marcos High fell in a matchup with Channel League powerhouse Pacifica, Carpinteria High dropped a close battle with Grace Brethren and Laguna Blanca came away with a big overtime win over Windward.
Pacifica 49, San Marcos 14
The Royals fell behind in a major way in the first half and Pacifica didn’t look back en route to the win.
The Tritons jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the opening quarter after a 50-yard drive and a 70-yard drive each ending in touchdowns, one passing and one rushing.
The dominance continued early in the second quarter when Pacifica added an 8-yard rushing touchdown to extend the advantage to 21-0 with just under nine minutes left in the half.
However, the Royals caught a break as the Tritons fumbled a punt, giving the San Marcos offense great field position.
They took advantage of that field position, as a run by running back Nate Jones and a big pass from quarterback Danny Diaz to wideout Quinn Donnell got the ball down to the 4-yard line.
From there, Diaz hit wide receiver Luke Crawford for the Royals’ first score of the game, cutting into the lead at 21-7 with 3:57 left in the half.
In the final four minutes of the half, Pacifica kicked it into high gear. First, the offense drove down the field and scored a touchdown in just one minute. Then, the Tritons recovered a muffed squib kick on the ensuing kickoff and scored on a 30-yard touchdown pass just a few seconds later.
They weren’t done there, as the Triton defense forced a punt and the offense took the ball down the field and scored another touchdown before halftime, bringing the score to 42-7 heading into the locker room.
The second half was lower scoring, as both sides picked up one touchdown apiece.
Pacifica scored its seventh and final touchdown through the air midway through the third quarter, while San Marcos quarterback Robert Simentales found Crawford for the wideout’s second score of the game in the fourth quarter.
The Royals, now 0-3 in Channel League play, will take on Buena on the road next week.
Grace Brethren 36, Carpinteria 30
The Carpinteria Warriors came up just short in a tightly contested battle with Grace Brethren, falling 36-30.
“We’re proud of the team win or lose and when you lose, you continue to learn from your mistakes and keep pushing to get better,” Carpinteria coach Mario Robinson said. “There are always bright spots with players making positive contributions.
“We will learn from the loss and continue playing one week at a time.”
The Warrior offense accumulated 319 yards, with quarterback Talon Trumble accounting for 193 of them. They also found some big plays from Sawyer Kelly and Troy Zimmerman, who had 50 and 40-yard receptions, respectively.
Isaya Gonzalez led the rushing attack for Carpinteria, punching in two touchdowns on the ground.
The Warriors will travel to Viewpoint for a non-league matchup next week.
Laguna Blanca 34, Windward 28 (OT)
The Laguna Blanca Owls picked up a thrilling 34-28 win over Windward in overtime.
In overtime, senior Spencer Hlavaty hit senior Gabe Lea in the endzone to put the Owls ahead by one score, and the defense came up with a stop to seal the win.
Lea had three touchdowns on the night en route to the win.
Earlier in the game, the Laguna Blanca offense scored on its first three possessions of the game, two of which went to Lea and one went to Sam Narva.
In the third quarter, senior Ganden Walker came up with a one-handed interception that he returned to the endzone to tie the game up at 28-28 heading into the fourth quarter, which ended up being a defensive showdown that led to overtime.
“It was great to see our team play hard, execute, and stay mentally sharp through all four quarters plus the overtime period, especially versus a Windward program that is historically successful and very well coached,” Owls coach Matt Escobar said.
“Our preparation put us in a position to be successful and our team made the most with those opportunities. We’re getting better each week, and our guys plan to keep this ascension at early morning weights, films, and practice next week.”
Laguna Blanca will be on the road to take on Calvary Chapel next Saturday.