In what may have been the final game played in old Peabody Stadium, Santa Barbara High fell to Channel League rival Ventura High, 50-21.
Ventura running back Broc Mortenson scored two touchdowns and notched 188 yards on 16 carries, and quarterback Jack Gutierrez added 221 yards through the air with a touchdown of his own.
Ventura (6-2, 2-0 Channel League) took the lead early on a 70-yard Mortenson run on the Cougars second offensive play of the game.
A 44-yard pass-and-catch from Gutierrez to Joey Thompson put Ventura up 14-0.
The Dons (3-5, 1-1 Channel League) ensuing drive nearly stalled on a third and 13, but a facemask penalty called against the Cougars extended the possession.
Sophomore quarterback Frankie Gamberdella connected with star receiver Christopher “Tick” Jellison on a 37-yard rainbow pass down the left sideline, and running back Jeremiah Nicholson punched the ball in from the 1 on fourth down.
Gamberdella went 23-for-39 with 187 yards and a touchdown on the night. He also scored on a quarterback sneak with 1:48 left in the second quarter to pull the Dons within striking distance, 24-14.
“He’s getting game experience as a sophomore playing varsity,” said Santa Barbara coach JT Stone of Gamberdella’s play. “There’s not too many sophomores playing varsity quarterback.”
Ventura’s freshman kicker Rourke Rieman made two of his three 40-plus yard field goals in the third quarter, booting in kicks from 45 and 41 yards out to put the Cougars up 30-14.
Santa Barbara drove to Ventura’s 31 and 48 at various points in the third, but failed to put any points on the board.
With 3:14 left in the third quarter, Jellison fielded a kickoff and weaved between Ventura defenders for 99 yards to the end zone, only to find that the touchdown was called back after an illegal block in the back penalty.
The Dons went three-and-out and had to punt the ball away.
On the next drive, Mortenson dodged tacklers on the way to a 49-yard carry that broke the game open, putting the Cougars up 37-14.
Jellison then took the next kickoff over 70 yards to the Ventura 27, but a pick-six by Ventura deepened the hole for the Dons, making the score 44-14.
“Tick is a competitor. I felt like he did some good things,” Stone said of Jellison’s effort in the second half. “We can’t rely on Tick every single time, so we have to do some things differently.”
Jellison completed the game with 6 catches for 65 yards as well as the two long returns. He played receiver, running back, and cornerback at various times in the game.
Nicholson scored his second touchdown of the night on a 12-yard catch to bring the Dons within 23 late in the fourth quarter, but the Cougars defense held the rest of the way, and Angel Moreno scored from 3-yards out as time expired to end the game.
It was a tough way to lose for Santa Barbara on its homecoming night and in the farewell game to Peabody Stadium.
“Hopefully we get to the playoffs and we can come back here and play,” commented coach Stone, who played in Peabody Stadium as a visiting Dos Pueblos Charger in the 90s. “Until it’s gone, we’re just gonna enjoy it while it’s here. It is a special place.”
The Dons travel to Dos Pueblos (6-1) next Friday for a huge Channel League matchup.
“One of the things we have to do is run the football,” coach Stone insisted of next week’s game.
Ventura improved to 6-2 on the season and hosts the winless San Marcos Royals next Friday.
— Noozhawk sports reporter Christian Eckert can be reached at ceckert@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports and @noozhawk. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.