SBCC football came up just short of its first win of the season in Saturday’s season finale with Santa Ana, falling by a score of 17-14 in Santa Ana.
The Vaqueros (0-10) struggled to move the ball in the second half, as they were outscored 14-0 in the final two quarters to bring their season to a winless end.
SBCC got out to a strong start, forcing a three-and-out before Brooks Trimmer connected with Luke McNeil for a 69-yard touchdown catch-and-run to take a 7-0 lead with 10:49 left in the first.
The two defenses then took over for the majority of the first half, as the 7-0 Vaquero advantage held until the final minutes of the second quarter.
After forcing a turnover on downs, SBCC marched 90 yards in 11 plays and capped off the drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Tua Rojas to Levi Cavalli to double the lead to 14-0 with 1:09 left in the half.
Santa Ana responded with a strong kickoff return and a 32-yard field goal just before the break to cut the deficit to 14-3 heading into halftime.
The Dons carried that momentum over to the second half, as they forced a Vaquero fumble on the first play from scrimmage and turned it into a rushing touchdown to make it a 14-10 SBCC lead.
That score held for the rest of the third quarter, as both sides exchanged turnovers on downs.
The Santa Ana defense then came up with an interception early in the fourth quarter, setting up a long rushing touchdown to put the Dons up 17-14 with 10:15 remaining.
The Dons’ defense sealed the victory down the stretch, picking off the Vaqueros on the ensuing drive and forcing an SBCC fumble in the final minute of the game.
As they did for the majority of the season, Rojas and Trimmer split time under center for SBCC. Rojas completed 10-of-18 passes for 179 yards, while Trimmer ended 9-for-15 for 151 yards.
McNeil paced the Vaquero receiving attack with five catches for 99 yards and a score, while Oscar Anoia took 14 carries for 65 yards on the ground.
