Santa Barbara High was plagued by breakdowns on both sides of the ball and lost a 27-18 non-league football game at Santa Maria on Friday night.
The Saints built a 14-0 halftime lead on a sweep by quarterback Blake Truhitte around left tackle and a long Truhitte touchdown pass play. He finished the game with 150 yards rushing and two TDS and 153 yards passing and two scores
Matt Cordero got Santa Barbara (0-2) on the board on a 43-yard pass from Jeremiah Nicholson on its first possession of the second half. But Santa Maria (2-0) responded with another touchdown to go ahead 21-6.
Ruben Velez pulled the Dons to within 21-12 with two minutes left. Santa Maria came right back and scored with 30 seconds to go.
Nicholson scored for Santa Barbara as time ran out.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.