A first-place showdown against Pacifica brought out the best in the Santa Barbara High flag football team.
The Dons dominated defensively and made clutch plays on offense to secure a 13-0 victory Tuesday night at Peabody Stadium. With the win, Santa Barbara is now tied with Pacifica at 4-1 in the Pacific View League, as the teams split their two matchups this season.
“We haven’t been here yet. We’re playing with a lot of joy, we’re playing at a high level, and it feels great to be in this position for the first time in my career,” said Santa Barbara High coach Travis Mañach.
Reigning Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Athlete of the Week Elina Stump set the tone from the very beginning with back-to-back sacks to open the game.
The strong start defensively set the Santa Barbara offense up at the Pacifica 23-yard line after a short punt by the Tritons. Three plays later, Laila Hernandez found Stump on a short pass that she turned into a 17-yard touchdown reception by weaving her way through several defenders.
Hernandez and Stump connected again on the ensuing one-point conversion to give the Dons a 7-0 lead with 8:10 remaining in the first quarter.
“Our main goal going into the game was to not let senior night and the past loss against Pacifica get in our way,” Stump said. “I think that really inspired us, and the crowd was so supportive. I could really feel the team energy throughout the whole field and on the sidelines.”
The early touchdown gave the Dons a huge advantage in a defensive slugfest.
Sophomore defensive back Vanessa Esparza snagged an interception at the 8:48 mark of the second quarter, once again giving Santa Barbara excellent field position. Santa Barbara mounted a 12-play drive down to the Pacifica 12-yard line before turning the ball over on downs.
The defensive stalemate continued into the fourth quarter, when an interception by freshman Maddie Stoll set up Santa Barbara for its second touchdown of the game.
The Dons capped off the ensuing drive with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Hernandez to sophomore Oaklee Johnston, who came down with the ball in heavy traffic to give Santa Barbara a 13-0 lead with 8:50 remaining in the game.
“Oaklee doesn’t play a ton, but when she gets in, she usually makes plays to help make a difference in the game,” Mañach said. “Today she made that huge play to ice it for us.”
From that point forward, the Dons closed out the game with their defense and notched their fourth consecutive shutout.
Santa Barbara will play at the Hueneme tournament this weekend before resuming league play against Channel Islands on Oct. 6.
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