A 43-10 loss at Santa Paula was another non-league stepping stone for the Carpinteria High football team in preparation for Citrus Coast League play, which begins next week.
The Warriors are no strangers to punching above their weight class, but they couldn’t keep pace with the host Cardinals, who jumped out to a 28-3 halftime lead and cruised to victory.
“We did some good things. We just didn’t do them consistently, and it’s all a part of the learning process,” said Carpinteria coach Van Latham. “We’ve had an aggressive preseason, and although the score doesn’t show it, I think we did improve this game.”
Carpinteria caught a break on the opening kickoff of the game as Santa Paula fumbled and the Warriors recovered, setting up their offense deep inside the Cardinals’ territory at the 39-yard line.
After the drive stalled at the 11-yard line, Peter Casas converted a 28-yard field goal to give Carpinteria a 3–0 lead with 8:38 remaining in the first quarter.
However, the Warriors’ lead was short-lived. A long Santa Paula kick return, combined with a Carpinteria personal foul, set up the Cardinals at the Carpinteria 31-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Santa Paula sophomore quarterback Rene Vega connected with Dominic Meza on a touchdown pass that put the Cardinals in front, 7–3, at the 8:19 mark of the first quarter.
Santa Paula increased its lead to 14-3 on a 3-yard run by Sebastian Alcantar with 55 seconds left in the first quarter. Alcantar notched his second touchdown of the game on a 9-yard run at the 5:10 mark of the second quarter.
The Cardinals got the ball back with just under three minutes to play in the first half and executed an efficient seven-play drive that was capped off by a 29-yard touchdown pass from Vega to Meza with 1:19 remaining before halftime.
Carpinteria opened the third quarter with an 18-play, 82-yard drive that consumed nearly the entire quarter. Isaac Neri capped it off with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Drew Filippini with 1:38 remaining in the third, cutting the Santa Paula lead to 28-10.
“That’s old-time Warrior football—what we used to do. That was great,” said Latham of the impressive drive. “That shows what we are capable of. We just have to cut down on mistakes and be a little bit more tenacious on every play.”
Freshman tight end Brayden Real was a major bright spot for Carpinteria, hauling in five catches for 61 yards, all in the second half.
Santa Paula (4-1 overall) closed out the game with touchdown runs of one yard and seven yards by Dominic Alcantar and Aiden Ramirez, respectively.
The Cardinals will open Tri-County League play at home vs. Agoura next week. Carpinteria (1–3) will begin Citrus Coast League play at home vs. Santa Clara, a team they beat 52–7 on the road in their non-league opener.
Bishop Diego 43, Alemany 18
Bishop Diego improved to 5–0 following a lopsided non-league victory over Alemany. Tua Rojas tossed three touchdown passes, and Gabe Villa notched two rushing touchdowns and one receiving.
The Cardinals closed the game with 21 unanswered points after Alemany cut its deficit to 22–18 early in the third quarter. Bishop Diego will host Camarillo next week in its Marmonte League opener.
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