Santa Barbara High put together the most dominant performance in the 65-year history of the Big Game on Friday, rolling to a 60-0 victory over rival San Marcos in front of a packed Peabody Stadium.
The Dons (3-2), whose 60 points are an all-time record for the rivalry matchup, dominated every facet of the game for their ninth win in the last 10 games against the Royals (1-3) following last year’s controversial tie.
The overall record now sits at 40-24-1 in favor of Santa Barbara.
“These guys have played so hard every game. I think if you could say one thing about our kids when you watch them, the effort is through the roof,” Santa Barbara High head coach Nate Mendoza said. “We put together a really good first half, executed with everything: offense, defense, special teams.
“Of course, there is some residual from last year. How could there not be? I think they wanted to avenge their good friends who were seniors last year, and they left no doubt.”
Santa Barbara High sophomore quarterback Griffin Arnold made a statement in his first introduction to the Big Game, completing 11-of-16 passes for 233 yards and five touchdowns in three quarters of play.
As a result, Arnold earned the Gary Blades Memorial Big Game Most Valuable Player.
“It means everything, we put on a show for the alumni, for the fans and I really feel like we came together as a team and pushed through. We just played our best and we didn’t stop,” Arnold said.
“The linemen gave me a great pocket to throw some passes to my receivers and I have a great receiving core and they were just lighting the field up all night.”
With a matchup full of history, Mendoza was proud of the way his team responded to an electric atmosphere in their home stadium.
“This is the one game you play for the other guys,” Mendoza said. “There are tons of fans here that come for one game; they come for the San Marcos game.
“It’s our job to put a performance together, and I hope that we made our alumni proud and everybody who wore the Dons helmet before.”
After a strong kick return to begin the game, the Dons cruised down the field and capped off their opening drive with a 13-yard touchdown catch-and-run from Arnold to Nate Meister.
Aaron Baizan barrelled into the endzone for the two-point conversion to give SB an 8-0 lead at the 10:22 mark in the first.
Following another SB defensive stop, the Dons were pinned back at their own 15-yard line to begin the next drive.
That didn’t slow them down, however, as Arnold connected with Monty Lopez for a 34-yard completion to quickly get into San Marcos territory.
From there, they got into the red zone and scored on a 4th-and-5 conversion as Arnold found Cade Mault for a 12-yard touchdown pass. Baizan once again converted the two-point attempt to make it 16-0 with 4:08 left in the first.
The Royals once again couldn’t get a first down on the ensuing drive, giving the Dons the ball once again with stellar field position. That field position immediately paid off as Arnold hit Meister for a 22-yard score.
Baizan converted the two-point conversion again to bring the lead to 24-0 heading into the second quarter.
“[Arnold] is getting better every week,” Mendoza said of his sophomore quarterback. “That’s what we keep saying, and he’s very coachable.
“We have really good coaches on the staff. Everybody’s all in on what we said back in the spring, which is we have one goal and it’s to develop our kids week after week.”
The dominance continued in the second, as the Dons forced another punt to set up an electrifying 69-yard touchdown catch and run out of the backfield by Lopez, Arnold’s fourth passing score of the night.
Lopez had a stellar night, taking nine carries for 76 yards and a touchdown to go along with 103 yards through the air and another score.
The two-point conversion trend continued as well, as Baizan walked into the endzone to extend the advantage to 32-0 early in the second quarter.
The Royals got their first first down of the night on the next possession and crossed into SB territory, but they were stopped on 4th down to give the ball back to the Dons.
That turnover on downs led to another score, as SB utilized all rushing plays to get into scoring position. Lopez punched in a 2-yard score and Baizan scored the two-point conversion to grow the lead to 40-0 with 4:12 left in the half.
The Dons weren’t quite done in the opening half, as they got another defensive stop and turned it into more points on a 2-yard rushing touchdown by Zane Webb to take a 46-0 advantage into halftime.
The second half began with a running clock due to the lopsided scoreboard, but that didn’t stop the Dons from extending their lead in the third.
After a three-and-out by the Royals, the SB offense went right back to work in SM territory and scored on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Arnold to James Faletti.
The extra point extended the advantage to 53-0, which held through the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth, the final touchdown of the night came on an electric play on the defensive end.
Santa Barbara High defensive back Senyo Wojogbe hauled in an interception and returned it back 70 yards for the touchdown and the 60-0 lead, which ultimately was the final score.
“[The shutout] mattered, and our backups held it down at the end,” Mendoza said. “We got everybody in and those guys held their own at the end. It’s nice to get a shutout and it’s a nice response from last week’s game.”