Santa Barbara City College football dominated the first half and fought off a fourth-quarter push from Orange Coast to earn a 24-19 victory on Saturday night at La Playa Stadium.
The Vaqueros raced out to a commanding 17-0 lead at halftime, but the Pirates kept the game within reach and outscored SBCC 13-0 in the final quarter to make things interesting.
However, SBCC held on in the final minutes and pulled out the team’s first win of the season in the conference opener.
“It’s crucial, it’s paramount and it’s a good feeling,” Vaquero head coach Craig Moropulos said of getting the first win of the year. “I wish it would have happened a little cleaner, but it wasn’t, but it’s still a W.”
The early stages of the game were dominated by the Vaqueros, beginning with the first drive of the night.
Will Doherty led a clean and efficient drive deep into Orange Coast territory, capping it off with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Luke Collins for the 7-0 lead with 10:45 left in the first.
Collins led the team in receiving with four catches for 67 yards and a touchdown.
Following a few stalled drives from both sides, SBCC’s Donovan Harris broke off a 48-yard punt return to get the Vaqueros to the Orange Coast 10-yard line.
On the next play, however, Doherty threw into traffic and the ball was tipped and intercepted by Joseph Near.
The SBCC defense continued to do its job, forcing another punt to set up a 31-yard field goal by Jackson Smith to extend the Vaquero lead to 10-0 at the end of the first quarter.
After two punts to begin the second, the Vaquero defense came away with its first turnover of the night after Ja’Faar Johnson punched the ball out of Orange Coast quarterback Zach Congalton’s hands.
Nicolas Bitar recovered the fumble, setting up the Vaquero offense for a scoring drive that ended in a 5-yard rushing touchdown from Harris with 5:05 to go in the half.
The rest of the second quarter went without another score, as SBCC shut down the Orange Coast two-minute drill thanks to an interception by Sean McGee.
“Up front they were good, they were trying to focus on keeping that quarterback corralled,” Moropoulos said of his defense’s first-half play.
Following a few failed drives to open the second half, the Pirates finally got on the scoreboard with 6:05 left in the third on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Congalton to Isaiah Esquibel to cut the deficit to 10 points at 17-7.
That 10-point lead went right back to 17 on the ensuing kickoff, as SBCC’s Tyreke Fortney fielded it at the 8-yard line and was a blur down the sideline, leaving every Pirate in the dust on his way to a 92-yard touchdown and a 24-7 lead.
“That was the fastest 92 yards I’ve ever seen a guy run, that was big for us,” Moropoulos said. “That’s why special teams are called special, because they do special things.”
The 24-7 advantage held until the fourth quarter when the momentum of the game completely flipped.
SBCC seemed to be rolling, as the defense forced a turnover on downs at their own 7-yard line with 10 minutes left in the game. However, Vaquero running back Ryan King fumbled on the next play to give the Pirates the ball right back.
They took advantage of the field position as Congalton completed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Near. After a failed extra-point attempt, the SBCC lead stood at 24-13.
After the Vaquero offense was forced to punt, the Orange Coast offense, powered by Congalton, marched its way down the field for another scoring opportunity.
“That guy’s a really good quarterback, he was able to make some plays out of the pocket and a few throws,” Moropoulos said of Congalton.
The Pirates took advantage of a pair of SBCC personal fouls and Anthony Osorio found the endzone on a 12-yard rushing touchdown to cut the deficit down to 24-19 with 3:15 left on the clock.
With a chance to run out the clock, the SBCC offense was stopped in its tracks and the Pirates got the ball back at their own 35-yard line with 1:13 left.
After finding a few open receivers and getting into SBCC territory, Congalton went for a deep shot and McGee came down with it for his second interception of the day and to seal the win for the Vaqueros.
“When you can win a game like that, I’m good with that,” Moropoulos said. “It is what it is, but it’s a W is what it is.”
The Vaqueros will be on the road for a conference matchup against College of the Canyons next Saturday at 1 p.m.