Santa Barbara High’s football team learned something about itself in a heartbreaking 28-27 loss to a solid Corona del Mar squad on Friday night at Peabody Stadium.
The young Dons can play big-boy football.
Santa Barbara had the No.18-ranked team in Southern California (by the L.A. Times) on the ropes in the second half, controlling possession and building a 27-7 lead. But the visitors from Newport Beach stormed back behind standout senior quarterback Brady Annett.
He threw three of his four touchdown passes in the second half — two in the fourth quarter — to lead a stirring comeback. He hit wide receiver Garrett James on a 15-yard strike to tie the score at 27 with 1:24 left in the fourth quarter. Kicker Joseph Dibella booted the winning extra point.
There was still time for Santa Barbara. Aided by a pair of pass interference penalties on throws by sophomore quarterback Griffin Arnold, the Dons got as far as the CdM 43 before the Sea King defense recorded a sack for a 9-yard loss and forced a fumble. After two more passes fell incomplete, the CdM sideline erupted in joy.
Annett passed for 268 yards, completing 17 of 28 passes, with two interceptions.
Arnold played a fine game in his second varsity start for Santa Barbara. He completed 16 of 27 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns. He hit wide receiver James King on a 9-yard pass for a 14-0 lead in the second quarter and connected with Reid Miller for an 8-yard score in the third quarter for the 27-7 advantage.
The Dons also got touchdowns from Nathan Meister on a perfectly executed reverse for 37 yards in the first quarter and on a 2-yard run by Aaron Baizan in the second period.
Santa Barbara also made big plays on defense and special teams to frustrate CdM. Defensive backs Matteo Corral and Miller each had pass interceptions that led to scoring opportunities in the second quarter. The Dons missed a field goal after Corral’s pick, but scored a touchdown after Miller’s.
Dylan Murphy of the kickoff team recovered a pooch kick near the end of the first half, but the Dons were unable to cash it in for points. In the third quarter, Hayden Reid of the punt team recovered a muffed Gabriel Ramirez boot at the CdM 8. Four plays later, Arnold and Reid Miller combined for a touchdown and a 27-7 lead.
Like a veteran team, CdM kept its composure and worked its way back into the game in the second half. Annett got hot and started connecting with his tall, athletic receivers Dorsett Stecker and Garrett James for big gains. He also picked up important yards with his feet. He had a 19-yard run on the final touchdown drive.
“We put ourselves in about the worst spot we could have, right?” said CdM coach Kevin Hettig of the big deficit. “We had the two tipped picks and then the two special teams turnovers, so we’re minus four possessions kind of off the bat. But these kids believe in themselves and they knew that if we kept grinding and kept working we could get there.
“I’m really proud of this group of kids because we could have quit in this situation where we had to make plays. This is why I’m high on these guys.”
Santa Barbara coach Nate Mendoza was proud of the stellar effort his players gave against a quality opponent.
“Amazing effort,” he said. “We just couldn’t make the key plays when it mattered. We needed to get first downs in the fourth quarter — a couple of first downs and the game is over. We couldn’t do it. We needed to help our defense out. The main point of the game was getting first downs in the fourth quarter. It’s execution issues, not effort. The effort was top-notch… unbelievable.
“Great first half, put up a great third quarter. Got to finish the game.”
With the kind quarterback talent Santa Barbara will see in its league and in the postseason, facing a team like Corona del Mar early in the season was a good test.
“You want this kind of game,” said Mendoza. “We’re gonna get challenged down the road in league and we’ve got to prepare for league. I know what we’re going to do, we’re going to get back to work tomorrow, we’re gonna watch film and learn from mistakes. It’s as simple as that.
“This is a tough team, we got hard-nosed kids. I think outsiders were questioning us on what we were going to be like this year. And I think we just proved to ourselves that we can play at this level. Now, we’ve got to finish.”
