The Dons have come a long way from an 0-2 start to the regular season.
Griffin Arnold completed 23 of 30 passes for 423 yards and four touchdowns as the Santa Barbara High football team increased its winning streak to four games with a 38-24 victory over Moorpark on Friday night at Peabody Stadium in the Channel League opener for both teams.
“It’s a great way to start off in the league. It’s kind of like starting the season off with a win. This is a brand-new season,” said Santa Barbara High coach Nate Mendoza. “It feels good. It doesn’t mean much if you don’t take care of business the following week.”
The Santa Barbara passing attack was clicking on all cylinders from the start. Arnold connected with Nate Meister on fourth-and-9 from the 29-yard line for a 27-yard gain down to the 2-yard line.
On the next play, Everret Rabb Preston powered into the end zone with 7:29 remaining in the first quarter.
After forcing a Moorpark punt, the Dons put together a five-play, 75-yard drive capped off by a 30-yard touchdown pass from Arnold to Cade Mault down the sideline, increasing Santa Barbara’s lead to 14-0 with just over two minutes remaining in the first quarter.
“We really wanted to attack from early on. We knew that they were going to play the run aggressively, so we got them with some play-action plays,” Arnold said. “We had a really good scheme going in, and we felt confident about it.”
Moorpark responded on its next drive as wide receiver Blake Davidson hauled in a short pass from Dawson Armstrong, broke free from the Santa Barbara secondary with back-to-back spin moves and zipped to the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown with 10:20 remaining in the second quarter.
The offensive explosion continued for Santa Barbara as Arnold tossed an 80-yard touchdown pass to Fin Congdon on the first play of the ensuing Santa Barbara drive, increasing the Dons’ lead to 21-7.
Both teams tacked on a touchdown before halftime. Armstrong found Ian Fraser in the flat for a 3-yard touchdown with 8:09 remaining in the second quarter, and Santa Barbara closed the first-half scoring with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Arnold to Meister with one minute remaining in the second quarter.
The visiting Musketeers came out of the locker room at halftime with renewed vigor as Brody Tweedy opened the second half with a 54-yard run, and Payton Sustin followed with a 16-yard touchdown run to cap off the two-play drive.
The touchdown cut Moorpark’s deficit to 28-21, and the Musketeers’ defense forced the Dons to turn the ball over on downs on their next drive.
With momentum on its side, Moorpark put together a 13-play drive that resulted in a 29-yard field goal, trimming Santa Barbara’s lead to 28-24 with 47 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Dons responded with a 10-play drive and kicked a field goal of their own, extending the lead to 31-24 at the 8:24 mark of the fourth quarter.
In need of a touchdown to even the score, the ensuing Moorpark drive stalled at midfield as Rabb Preston batted down a pass on fourth down to give Santa Barbara the ball back.
Santa Barbara mounted a clock-killing drive but went to the passing game for the dagger as Arnold connected with Mault in the flat for the game-sealing touchdown with 1:44 remaining in the game.
With the victory, Santa Barbara improves to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in Channel League play. The Dons will travel to Ventura next week.
Newbury Park 35, Bishop Diego 0
The Cardinals have lost four consecutive games after a 2-0 start to the season. The loss drops Bishop Diego to 2-4 overall and 0-1 in Marmonte League play.
Dos Pueblos 35, Hueneme 7
The Chargers opened Tri-County League play with a lopsided victory, increasing their winning streak to three games. Dos Pueblos will travel to unbeaten Royal next week.
Channel Islands 24, Carpinteria 14
The Warriors fell short in their Citrus Coast League opener, dropping to 0-6 overall.
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