Santa Barbara High flag football secured its first Pacific View League win with a 20-2 victory over Channel Islands on Thursday at Peabody Stadium.
The Dons (8-2, 1-1 PVL) will continue league action back at home against Del Sol on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
After a scoreless first quarter, Laila Hernandez got Santa Barbara on the board first with a 20-yard touchdown run early in the second. She connected with Shea Gannon for the extra point to take a 7-0 lead.
That score held for the rest of the first half, with Dons’ rushers Elina Stump, Shea Gannon and Summer Maxwell all having strong opening halves.
While the Santa Barbara High defense continued to dominate in the third quarter, Hernandez scrambled and found Gannon for a 12-yard touchdown and the extra-point to double the lead to 14-0 heading into the fourth.
The Dons’ defense made a clutch red zone stop in the fourth quarter, but the ensuing drive ended in a safety to put Channel Islands on the board.
Santa Barbara High responded with another defensive stop before handing the ball off to Stump, who broke free for a 77-yard touchdown to put the finishing touches on the 20-2 win.
“We really had to work hard for everything tonight until Elina broke that one at the end,” Santa Barbara High head coach Travis Manach said. “Our rushers and defense were outstanding tonight, and Laila and the offense were poised and made the plays when we needed to. Great team win.”
Stump totaled eight flag pulls, including a program-record five sacks. Meanwhile, Gannon totaled three sacks of her own.
