A golden opportunity for the Santa Barbara High football team to capture a signature non-league victory was erased by a brilliant fourth-quarter comeback by Corona Del Mar.
The visiting Sea Kings took their first lead of the game with 1:24 remaining in the fourth quarter on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Brady Annett to Garrett James and held on for a 28-27 victory on Friday night at Peabody Stadium.
“We just couldn’t make key plays when it mattered. We needed to get first downs in the fourth quarter. A couple of first downs, and the game is over,” said Santa Barbara High coach Nate Mendoza. “We’ve got to give our defense a breather, and we just couldn’t do it.”
Through 3.5 quarters of football, Santa Barbara executed its game plan to near perfection. The Dons were suffocating defensively and balanced on offense.
Sophomore wide receiver Nate Meister jump-started the Santa Barbara offense with a 36-yard touchdown run on a reverse, giving the Dons a 7-0 lead with 6:21 remaining in the first quarter.
After an interception by Santa Barbara senior defensive back Matteo Corral, the Dons again marched down the field but failed to convert a 29-yard field goal.
However, the Santa Barbara defense continued to frustrate Corona Del Mar, as Annett threw incompletions on six of his first eight passes, and the other two were intercepted. The Dons increased their lead to 14-0 midway through the second quarter on a 19-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Griffin Arnold to senior wide receiver James King.
King used his 6’2” frame to leap above a Corona Del Mar defensive back and come down with the jump ball.
Down by two scores and facing a 4th-and-2 near midfield, the Sea Kings’ offense came to life as Annett lofted the ball down the sideline, and James made a spectacular 34-yard catch.
“I’m really proud of this group of kids because we could have quit five different times in that game,” said Corona Del Mar coach Kevin Hettig of his team’s perseverance.
Two plays later, Annett found Dorsett Stecker in the back of the end zone, cutting the Sea Kings’ deficit to 14-7 with 2:37 remaining in the second quarter.
As the clock ticked down in the first half, Santa Barbara put together a five-play, 71-yard drive that was capped off by a one-yard touchdown run by Aaron Baizan with 35 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
The Dons’ offense stalled to open the second half, but the ensuing punt was muffed by Corona Del Mar, and Santa Barbara took over first-and-goal from the nine-yard line. Four plays later, Arnold connected with Reid Miller in the flats for an eight-yard touchdown with 5:30 remaining in the third quarter, giving Santa Barbara a 27-7 lead.
From that point forward, the Corona Del Mar passing attack shifted into high gear. Annett completed 10 of 14 passes for 177 yards and three touchdowns in the second half.
The onslaught began with a five-play, 72-yard drive that was capped off with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Stecker.
Santa Barbara went six plays and out on its next possession, punting the ball down to the ten-yard line. However, Corona Del Mar quickly marched 90 yards in six plays, cutting its deficit to 27-21 with 10:48 remaining in the fourth quarter on a one-yard touchdown pass from Annett to James.
With less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Corona Del Mar took over possession at the Santa Barbara 45-yard line. Annett immediately ran for a 19-yard gain down to the 26-yard line on the first play of the drive.
After a Santa Barbara sack that pushed Corona Del Mar back to the 30, Annett connected with James on back-to-back 15-yard passes, the second of which was the go-ahead touchdown.
James finished with nine catches for 174 yards and two touchdowns.
The two teams had previously met in the quarterfinals of the 2023 CIF-SS Division 4 playoffs, where Corona Del Mar won 24-21 at Peabody Stadium.
Paraclete, 49; San Marcos, 0
The Royals drop to 1-1 on the season and will travel to Santa Ynez next week
Dos Pueblos, 19; Royal, 0
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Bishop Diego 42; West Ranch, 6
The Cardinals exploded for 28 second half points and improved to 2-0 after routing West Ranch. Tua Rojas tossed three touchdown passes, two of which went to John Michael Flint. Ian Bartley led the defense with two interceptions, including one that he returned for a touchdown.
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