The Carpinteria Warriors dropped their third game of the season at home, falling 49-14 to the Webb Gauls of Claremont as second-half adjustments weren’t enough to stop the Gauls’ air-raid attack.
Webb was able to drive down the field and score quickly on its opening drive, with Kaj Grayson connecting on a 9-yard quick pass to Ziggy Fergus to give the Gauls a 7-0 lead. Carpinteria’s first drive of the game foreshadowed a theme that would continue throughout the first half: offensive line struggles. Senior quarterback Issac Neri was sacked on back-to-back plays, leading to a punt and giving the Gauls the ball again.
The Warriors’ defense stepped up on Webb’s next drive, which was highlighted by a sack on a big third-down stop from defensive linemen Brick Tumble and Erasm Frausto-Elizarraraz. Webb was then forced to punt, turning the ball over on downs. The ensuing offensive drive for the Warriors built momentum on a 32-yard touch pass from Neri up the seam to Gabriel Chung to move the chains, but the drive came to a halt after a few incomplete passes and a punt.
Webb’s offensive drives were primarily going through its wide receivers. Listed at 6’7”, Jimmie Brown III was able to serve as the Gauls’ security blanket at crucial moments. On the next Webb possession, Kaj Grayson found Brown for a 20-yard gain, setting the Gauls up in scoring position near the red zone. Grayson rolled out to his left and threw a 25-yard strike to receiver Aidan Kaushal on a streak down the sideline. Kaushal was able to readjust his body and stay in bounds for Webb’s second touchdown of the night, making the score 14-0.
The air attack continued, with Webb throwing to its man of the night, Jimmie Brown III, for two more touchdowns before halftime, making the score 28-0.
As the second half continued, the Gauls didn’t let up. Kaj Grayson found Aidan Kaushal for a 40-yard touchdown on a highlight-reel play, with Kaushal weaving through the entire Warrior defense. A 2-point conversion by Webb made the score 36-0 in the third quarter.
The Warrior spirit was finally awakened on the ensuing offensive drive. A 25-yard pass to Jonah Hernandez got the drive going. On the following play, Brayden Real made a spectacular one-handed grab to set up the Warriors’ first red-zone opportunity of the game. Quarterback Issac Neri called his own number as the pocket collapsed and found the end zone with a 6-yard scamper, making the score 36-7.
“We challenged them in the second half. Our game plan was to throw the ball, and we were effective occasionally. We just weren’t consistent. We had some trouble with the interior defensive line. We fixed it in the second half, but it was a little too late,” said Head Coach Van Latham.
The Warriors would show more fight, stopping multiple Webb drives with stingy secondary play throughout most of the third and fourth quarters. Late in the fourth quarter, with two minutes remaining, Webb was able to take advantage of some breaks in the Carpinteria coverage to score two more touchdowns to receiver Jimmie Brown III, whose 6’7” frame served as a pivotal mismatch throughout the game.
Carpinteria also scored one last touchdown as time expired, with Gabriel Chung catching a pass from backup quarterback Blayden Bryant.
Looking ahead to next week’s matchup with Fillmore (2-2), Latham said, “That’s gonna be another battle. We saw them in the summer. They throw and catch the ball well. So we gotta get healthy, learn from it and keep after it.”
