Santa Barbara High Football Eliminated by El Modena in Playoff Opener

A fast start wasn’t enough for the Santa Barbara High football team to advance in the CIF-SS Division 4 playoffs.

The Dons led 14-0 and 21-7 in the first half, but were shut out after halftime in a 28-21 loss to El Modena on Thursday night.

Laird Finkel and the Santa Barbara offense caught fire early in the game. Kai Mault capped off a seven-play, 75-yard scoring drive with an eight-yard touchdown run to put the Dons ahead 7-0 with 10:03 remaining in the first quarter.

Santa Barbara extended its lead to 14-0 on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Finkel to Mason Morales with 9:40 remaining in the second quarter. However, El Modena responded with a 13-yard touchdown pass on a gadget play from Sam Jackett to Brodie Hitchens. 

The Dons continued their first-half dominance through the air with a 39-yard touchdown pass from Finkel to Sammie Congdon that extended their lead to 21-7 with 4:54 remaining in the second quarter.

In the second half, El Modena relied on ball control and stellar defense to take control. The Vanguards opened the second half with a 16-play, 64-yard drive that took nearly nine minutes off the clock. Xzavior Guess capped off the drive with a four-yard touchdown pass to AJ Leonard that tied the score at 21-21 with 3:02 left in the third quarter.

El Modena took its first lead of the game on a 23-yard pass from Guess to Deron Taylor with 9:36 remaining in the fourth quarter. Santa Barbara tried a fake punt from its own 45-yard line with six minutes remaining that failed to reach the first down marker. 

Guess, who is a four-year starter at quarterback, finished with 234 yards passing and 72 yards rushing. 

Finkel, who will return next year for his senior season,  completed 17 of 24 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns. Mault tallied four receptions for 78 yards and four carries for 38 yards in his final high school game. 

The Dons finished the season with a 6-4-1 record overall.