PALMDALE — They’ve put in the work and put in the mileage.
The Santa Barbara High Golden Tornado are now headed home to play for a CIF-Southern Section football championship.
On a cold Friday night in this high desert town, Santa Barbara jumped on Palmdale for 30 unanswered points and beat the Falcons 37-15 in a Division 8 semifinal game.
Junior quarterback Deacon Hill threw four touchdown passes for the third straight playoff game and senior wide receiver Dakota Hill hauled in two for the third game in a row. Second-seeded Santa Barbara prevailed in their second long road trip to earn a title game date at home against top-seeded Sunny Hills on Thanksgiving weekend.
The title game will be played Saturday, Nov. 30 at San Marcos High.
“I’m just happy for these kids because I just know how much work we’ve put into it. I know how much work I’ve put into this and these kids have just done everything we’ve asked them to do,” said coach J.T. Stone, who is in his sixth year at the helm.
“There’s nothing greater when kids believe in something and they believe that they can do something to get it done. They believed and the got it done.”
The title game appearance will be Santa Barbara’s first since a co-championship with Muir in 1989.
Santa Barbara sent a message early that Palmdale’s vaunted defense could not stop it.
Mixing his plays to keep the Falcons defense off balance, Deacon Hill guided the Golden Tornado 78 yards on 13 plays on their opening drive. Running back Ty Montgomery scored on an 8-yard run and kicked the PAT for a 7-0 lead at 6:40 of the first quarter.
Santa Barbara’s defense took its turn to send a message. Linebacker Johnny Valencia was smacking Palmdale ball carriers and nose guard Noach Wood disrupted things in the backfield.
“When I saw their offense, I knew Noach was going to be a problem,” said Stone. “You got to spread us out. If you’re going to run the ball, Noach is going to make you adjust. He’s just a solid football player and he did what we expected him to do.
“Joshua Rosales played really well, too. Both of those guys, they anchor our defense.”
The defensive pressure led to a short Palmdale punt, giving Santa Barbara the back at its 45.
The Golden Tornado, with the aid of Palmdale unsportsmanlike penalty, found the end zone in four plays. Deacon Hill threw a fade that Jake Knecht ran under for a 19-yard score and a 14-0 lead at 2:59 of the opening quarter.
“We owe it all to the defense for giving us that ball in scoring positon,” said Deacon Hill. “We were able to drive like that first one, when we were able to drive all the way down. “But it makes is so much easier when you’re on their side of the 50.”
After Wood and Charlie Figueroa buried Palmdale quarterback Marcus Hearn on a third and 22, another short punt gave Santa Barbara the ball at its 46.
Again, Deacon Hill took advantage of the great field position and hit Dakota Hill on a post pattern for a 54-yard touchdown and a 21-0 lead just seven seconds into the second quarter.
“One thing about football, when you come out and you punch somebody in the mouth, they have to react: ‘Are you going to play or not?’ They chose not to play.
“We told (our guys) to just keep hitting them and we did that.”
A Dakota Hill interception of Hearn at the Palmdale 40 set up the fourth straight score by Santa Barbara.
Deacon Hill lofted a beautiful ball over two defenders and into the hands of Moki Nacario to complete a 45-yard scoring play with 1:11 left in the second quarter. The PAT kick failed, leaving the Golden Tornado ahead 27-0 against a team that posted five shutouts during the season.
Deacon Hill completed 10 of 13 passes for 197 yards and three scores in the first half. He finished the game 12 of 19 for 218 yards.
“When you got kids like Deacon at the helm, it makes my job so much easier with the game plan,” said Stone. “Everything we did tonight just clicked again and we’re going to the CIF championship game.”
Wood, Jesse Macias and the rest of the Santa Barbara defense continued to make it tough for Palmdale to break out and hurt the Golden Tornado with their speed.
An interception by Nacario on a fake punt ended the Falcons’ first possession of the second half.
Santa Barbara failed to capitalize on the turnover as it missed a 44-yard field goal.
Palmdale went three and out and kicked another short punt to the Santa Barbara 45.
The Golden Tornado got as far as the 10 and Montgomery kicked a 28-yard field goal for a 30-0 lead at 3:41 of the third quarter.
Palmdale switched quarterbacks, and sophomore Nathaniel Mealancon provided a spark. He broke through the defense and bolted 77 yards to the Santa Barbara 3.
The Falcons scored on fourth and goal, with Mealancon sneaking in from the 1 to break the shutout and make it 30-7
A roughing the kicker penalty allowed Palmdale to kick off from the Santa Barbara 45. The Falcons recovered their onside kick attempt and drove the short field for their second touchdown. Mealancon hit Jayden Sheridan for the TD and then ran for the 2-point conversion, making it two-score game, 30-15, with 11:56 let in the fourth quarter.
The Falcons tried another onside kick but the ball went out of bounds during the mad scramble for possession.
The Hills sealed Santa Barbara’s spot in the championship game as Dakota Hill hauled in a 15-yard strike from Deacon Hill with 4:47 left.
“We just came to play today,” said Deacon Hill on the team’s impressive performance. “We’ve been working hard all week; the line has been stepping up tremendously these last two weeks; the running backs are getting us all the yards we need and then we open it up with the passing game.”
It’s all worked to get the Golden Tornado into the championship game.