SBCC fumbled on its possession in overtime and dropped a 17-14 football season opener at Allan Hancock College in the 60th meeting between the county community colleges on Saturday.
Hancock’s Colton Theaker kicked a 37-yard field goal on the Bulldogs’ overtime possession for the winning points.
The Vaqueros had a third down on the Hancock 17 when the ball was fumbled on a run off left tackle. Adreian Stevenson recovered for the Bulldogs to end the game.
SBCC, playing its first football game since the 2019 season, rallied from a 14-0 halftime deficit behind the passing of quarterback Ben Partee, a San Marcos High alum.
Partee completed a 59-yard pass to Keyon Grayer to put the Vaqueros on the scoreboard in the third period. Jorge Figueroa kicked the PAT
In the fourth quarter, he hooked up with David Rowe on a fourth-down play for the second SBCC score. Figueroa kicked the tying extra point.
Partee completed 16 of 26 passes for 188 yards had one interception. Cyrus Wallace was the leading receiver with six catches for 83 yards.
Hancock ran for both its touchdowns in the second quarter. Christian Erickson scored from 25 yards and Maurice Smith had a 32-yard scoring run. Theaker kicked both PATs.
The Bulldogs put together a time-consuming drove for a possible winning score late in the fourth quarter. They got inside the SBCC 30 before Jeremy Jon-Foster dropped quarterback Esekielu Storer for a 5-yard loss.
Cyrus Wallace broke up a long pass at the goal-line, and Luke Wagner sacked Storer for a loss back to the 45 on third down, taking the Bulldogs out of field-goal range. A delay of game penalty put the ball back to the 50, where Hancock punted.
The Vaquero defense stopped Hancock’s possession from the 25-yard line in overtime, but the Bulldogs still came away with points on Theaker’s field goal.
SBCC’s chance at winning the game or extending the overtime slipped away with the fumble.
The Vaqueros outgained Hancock 268-238.
SBCC makes its home debut next Saturday against West L.A.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.