The Santa Barbara area fall sports have entered the playoff and championship season, and those with their seasons still alive made appearances at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Press Luncheon at Harry’s Plaza Cafe.
While the teams heading into their biggest games and meets of the year accounted for the majority of the day, the Special Olympics of Santa Barbara led off the luncheon by awarding their Athletes of the Quarter.
The SBART Press Luncheon is sponsored by Cottage Health, Fidelity National Title Group, Investec Real Estate and Knight Real Estate Group.
Special Olympics Athletes of the Quarter
The quartet of Arturo B. Montano, Manny Gorgita, LaMarcus Briggs and Adam Ernst were honored as the Special Olympics Athletes of the Quarter in Santa Barbara.
They play many different sports as a part of the Special Olympics, including basketball, floorball, soccer, swimming, tennis, bowling and bocce ball.
Montano, Gorgita, Briggs and Ernst all played on the Special Olympics softball team, which rounds out its season on Saturday. Their team name was the “Sundowners.”
The Special Olympics Athlete of the Quarter award is sponsored by Carp Physio.
High School Football Playoffs Kick Off
Three local high school football teams will have a chance at a CIF-SS championship this season, with Santa Barbara High and Dos Pueblos competing for 11-man crowns and Laguna Blanca vying for an 8-man title.
The Dons, who will go by the “Golden Tornado” for the playoffs, were awarded the No. 2 seed in the Division 6 playoffs and will host Fullerton High on Friday at 7 p.m. at Peabody Stadium.
“We get to play an old-school, double wing from the ’90s offense (in Fullerton), and it’s a tough one. They’re good, and they’re 8-2, so we’re really excited,” Santa Barbara High football coach Nate Mendoza said.
Santa Barbara High’s 28-14 win over Thousand Oaks last Friday gave the Dons the Channel League championship, the program’s first league title since 2019.
Meanwhile, Dos Pueblos will be on the road for its Division 10 playoff opener on Friday against Brentwood School.
The Chargers are fresh off a historic Battle for the Goodland where they pulled out a 16-15 win over San Marcos in the final seconds of the game.
“It wasn’t just the football players on the field from both schools. It was the cheerleaders from both schools. It was the bands playing against each other… It was the students rushing the field. It was the alumni on the sidelines,” Dos Pueblos football coach AJ Pateras said of the Battle for the Goodland win.
“It was a great representation of our community and how much our community loves what our kids are a part of. I think it shows the value of us as adults continuing to highlight all these spectacular performances.”
In 8-man action, Laguna Blanca will host league rival Malibu on Friday in Hope Ranch. The Owls defeated Malibu by a score of 60-32 in their regular-season finale on Oct. 23.
Channel/Pacific View League Cross Country Championship
Dos Pueblos and the Goodland will play host to the Channel/Pacific View League championship meet on Wednesday at 2 p.m. The race will begin and end at Scott O’Leary Stadium.
San Marcos and Dos Pueblos will be competing against their fellow Channel League teams, while Santa Barbara High will go for a Pacific View League championship.
The Royals and Chargers are fresh off impressive showings at last week’s Santa Barbara County Championship meet in Lompoc. San Marcos took first in the boys and girls races, while the Chargers finished in second place in each race.
College Basketball Season Tips Off
While the high school basketball season will start in two weeks, SBCC’s basketball teams opened their seasons this past weekend and the UCSB basketball season is set to begin this week.
The Vaquero men’s and women’s basketball teams each began their years with victories this weekend. The men’s team took down El Camino by a score of 78-51, while the women’s squad pulled out a 60-56 win over No. 24 Santa Ana.
The SBCC men are coming off their best season in 19 years, going 15-13 in the 2025-26 campaign. Meanwhile, the girls have won 20 games in back-to-back seasons and have made the postseason in four straight seasons.
Out in Isla Vista, the Gaucho men’s basketball season opens on Monday night with a matchup against San Francisco State at 6 p.m. inside the Thunderdome.
The UCSB women’s basketball team doesn’t have to wait long to begin their season either, as the Gauchos will roll out the welcome mats for UC Santa Cruz back in the Thunderdome on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Student-Athletes in Attendance
SBCC Football: Levi Cavalli
Santa Barbara High Football: Griffin Arnold, Henry Crafton, Ethan Haas
San Marcos Cross Country: Elsie Tuttle, Jane Demmin, Maya D’Amour, Abby Herbst
Dos Pueblos Football: Caeden Lee, Marcus Carbajal, Wyatt Mitchell
Dos Pueblos Cross Country: Iyla Herrick, Andrew Gulger
Dos Pueblos Boys Water Polo: Koa Zertuche, Channing Wigo
