One of the coolest sights at Carpinteria High home football games is when players Sammy Gutierrez and Sergio Pelcastre take off their helmets after pregame warm-ups and join the marching band for the playing of the national anthem.
Gutierrez plays the cymbals and Pelcastre is first trumpet.
“It’s such a pleasure to be around these guys,” football coach Ben Hallock said at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon. “I appreciate their commitment to our program. They’re terrific people and multi-talented guys.”
The Warriors rebounded from their loss at Nipomo with a 45-24 win over Oak Park. Hallock said the team rushed for more than 300 yard with its third set of running backs. “The line did a good job and we shut them out in the second half.”
Omar Miranada, a standout basketball player, provided a spark that night as a receiver and defensive back. He had five receptions for 137 yards and two interceptions, one he returned 70 yards for a touchdown.
“On both interceptions, he had wild returns. The one he ran back for a touchdown was 70 yards in a straight line but he zigzagged and it was about 400 yards and took three minutes,” Hallock quipped. “I was exhausted by the time it was over.”
Carpinteria (2-1) is home to an unbeaten South Torrance team on Friday. South is ranked ninth in the CIF Western Division.
Dos Pueblos: The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Chargers (1-3). After playing Newbury Park, the Northern Division’s top-ranked team, they travel to Lompoc on Thursday to face the third-ranked Braves.
On the 51-0 loss to Newbury Park, coach Nate Mendoza said: “They’re the No. 1 team in their division and they played like it. We knew what we were getting into, unfortunately, we didn’t play at the level we needed to be competitive on Friday. We played hard and never quit.”
Mendoza introduced a pair of two-way starters, junior lineman Eric Botello and senior defensive end-receiver Connor Kanan. He said Kanan is an outstanding worker and Botello plays and acts like a senior on the field.
While the schedule has been rugged, but Mendoza has stressed to his team that it’s all about the process of getting better every week.
San Marcos: Anthony Linebaugh pointed out one of the fine qualities of running back Inri Cortez. “He has great vision,” Linebaugh said. “And it was really handy today because we were driving around the parking lot for a while. And, all of sudden, ‘Coach!’ And I said, ‘Yes! That’s an example of your vision.’”
Cortez, who is nicknamed the “Worm” for the way he finds himself into good spots, had a big game in the Royals’ win at Hueneme last Friday, rushing for 146 yards on just seven carries and scoring on a 62-yard run. He also returned a kickoff 45 yards and caught a 7-yard scoring pass.
Linebaugh praised Cortez for his leadership at school and at home.
Russell Biolly played a solid game at defensive tackle for the Royals, recording five tackles, one for a loss, and a sack. Linebaugh said Biolly is nicknamed “The Professor, because he leads the team in most frequently asked questions.”
The Royals (1-3) return to Oxnard on Friday and play at Channel Islands.
Bishop Diego: Athletic Director Dan Peeters introduced two players who made key plays in the Cardinals’ 35-7 win over a rugged Cabrillo team: Alexis Herrera and AV Bennett
Herrera returned an interception that set up a touchdown and made a huge open-field tackle on a scrambling quarterback on fourth down. “He’s one of our best tacklers,” said Peeters.
For the second straight game, Bennett made a back-breaking play for the Cardinals. He picked up a Cabrillo fumble and ran it back 50 yards for a touchdown. Last week against LaSalle he returned the second-half kickoff 99 yards for a score.
“I’m the special teams coordinator and there wasn’t one block made on the play,” Peeters recalled. “It was strictly him being a gifted young man.”
The Cardinals (4-0, ranked 6th in the Northern Division) have a bye this week. They play Mission Prep next Friday night.
Santa Barbara: At this stage of the season, JT Stone said the Dons are a defensive team. They’ve allowed only two touchdowns in their last two games, both victories.
“You look at our scores, we are a defensive football team,” Stone said.
He brought three impact players from the defensive unit: linebackers Carter Soto and Junior Garcia and lineman Mikey Sandoval. “For the past four games, I’ve relied on these gentlemen to take care and hold the dam for us. They’ve done a great job. Those guys are anchoring our football team,” said Stone.
Santa Barbara (2-2) returns home on Friday night to play Royal.
Laguna Blanca: Owls coach Shane Lopes introduced Ryan Bickett and Robert Estrada as two key players in Saturday’s home-opening win over Coast Union. “These athletes got the momentum going in the second half,” said Lopes.
Bickett, a three-sport athlete and 4.0 student, had a long touchdown run and Estrada returned a kickoff for a touchdown for the second straight game.
Laguna Blanca (3-0) is home against Discovery Prep on Saturday at 3 p.m.
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