Alea Hyatt knows a thing or two about making big kicks in pressure situations. As a star on the Santa Barbara High girls soccer team, she led the squad in scoring last year with 7 goals and 6 assists and was named to Presidio Sports All-City team.
On Friday night, she carried that talent over to the gridiron in her prep football debut. She scored 9 points as the placekicker, going 2-2 on field goals and 3-3 on extra points as the Dons rallied for a 27-20 win over Pacifica. One of her field goals was a 36-yarder that broke a 17-all tie.
By Dave Loveton
Hyatt won the female Athlete of the Week award during Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon. It was also High School Principals Day and many of the local leaders were in attendance.
“Last year, the trainer and I put on a Powder Puff football game for the girls and Alea was fantastic, she’s better than half my boys,” said SBHS coach JT Stone. “She’s fast, she can move and I wish I could do more with her. We were happy to get her.
“She competes at a high level and she’s going to play soccer at North Carolina. We expect big things from her the next 4-5 games.”
Stone introduced Jeremiah Nicholson, his starting free safety and a quarterback of the future. He moved to cornerback last Friday and did an outstanding job against some talented receivers from Pacifica. introduced
The Dons (4-2) travel to defending Channel League champion Ventura this week and Stone said his team has been looking forward to this game since last year. The Cougars are 2-4 but have played a tough schedule.
SBCC: The Vaqueros went to L.A. Southwest on Saturday and won 48-10, scoring 48 points for the second week in a row. They’re 3-2 overall and 2-0 in the American Pacific League.
“We played very well,” said coach Craig Moropoulos. “Two of the guys who were responsible for a lot of our success were quarterback Brandon Edwards and receiver/kick returner Elijah Cunningham (who both attended).
“In nine years at City College, I’ve never had a quarterback who graded out at 97 percent. Brandon does a great job with our system. Elijah is No. 2 in the state in kickoff returns (averaging 43.6 yards) and he returned one 82 yards for a score on Saturday.”
Cunningham is the half-brother of ex-Santa Barbara High and SBCC standout Cheroke Cunningham.
The Vaqueros have a bye on Saturday, then host 4-1 L.A. Valley on Oct. 17 at 1 p.m.
San Marcos: The Royals ended the preseason 1-5 after a 25-13 loss at Nordhoff. “We’re looking forward to our bye week and the theme will be ‘back to the basics,’ ” said coach Anthony Linebaugh.
Linebaugh introduced Josh Harrah and said he’s what happens “when character meets sportsmanship and athleticism.” Harrah is a strong student who plays tight end, defensive end and swing tackle. Brian Tepeque was also at the luncheon and Linebaugh said he’s worked 3 years to become a starting cornerback.
After a bye, the Royals open Channel League play on Oct. 16 vs. Ventura.
Dos Pueblos: Coach Nate Mendoza thanked principal Shawn Carey, who hired him to coach the Charger baseball team at the age of 24 when she was assistant principal.
“She later hired me as head football coach and a teacher and has been the driving force in helping me get my administration credential this year, so I owe her a lot and appreciate all that she’s done for me,” said Mendoza.
The Chargers (2-4) beat Carpinteria 53-28 behind five TDs by Athlete of the Week Manny Nwosu. “We put up some good points and the guys stayed hungry,” noted Mendoza. “We have 66 kids on the roster and all of them played.”
Mendoza introduced Nwosu, junior receiver Tommy Johnson and senior center David Carrillo.
Bishop Diego: The Cardinals are 5-0 after a 47-13 win over Mission Prep. Coach Tom Crawford said that even better than the undefeated record is seeing his team progress and show some consistency.
“Our guys don’t care who gets the accolades or the points,” Crawford stated. “A lot of guys have stepped up in games. Tommy Murillo had a breakout game with two TDs on Saturday.”
Crawford brought senior quarterback Spencer Stovesand, whose parents and grandfather attended the luncheon. Stovesand, who has a 4.2 GPA, is completing 75 percent of his passes and was 11-for-11 with two touchdowns vs. Mission Prep.
AV Bennett, one of eight seniors on the team, also came to the luncheon. He caught two TD passes and had a 75-yard punt return called back by penalty. “He’s a tremendous athlete and an outstanding track athlete who won CIF titles in the 100 and 200,” noted Crawford. “He has received an offer to play football at the University of San Diego and Cal Poly is also interested.”
The Cardinals will travel to Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles on Friday to take on View Park.
Carpinteria: “We’re not hungry, we’re kind of starving,” said defensive coordinator Rick Candaele, whose Warriors fell to 0-5 after a loss at Dos Pueblos. “When they ran outside, we ran inside and when they ran inside, we ran outside.”
Candaele introduced Jax Montgomery, who caught five passes for 100 yards, and 6-5 receiver Brandon Jordan who caught two TDs vs. DP.
The Warriors host Santa Paula on Friday night.
Laguna Blanca: The Owls won their Condor League opener 43-13 in an eight-man game at Villanova Prep in Ojai.
Coach Shane Lopes brought Christian Fowler, who had 14 tackles, and senior captain Pierce O’Donnell. They’re both four-year players and coach Shane Lopes said O’Donnell is the opposite of someone who says they don’t have enough time to get things done.
“Pierce proves that you can create time,” said Lopes. “He’s the top of his class, ASB president and got a perfect score in two sections of the SAT. He’s a 2-year team captain who plays both ways and had 6 catches for 104 yards against Villanova. He also blocked a field goal and blocked a punt. He’s the spirit of our team.”
Laguna has three league games remaining and it has never beaten any of the three. After a bye, the Owls will host Orcutt Academy on Oct. 17 in their homecoming game.
WATER POLO
UCSB men: The Gauchos are 9-4 and ranked No. 6 in the country. Three of their losses have been to No.4 Cal, including a 12-8 setback on Saturday. Assistant coach Ryan McMillen said the tough part about playing in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation is “every team is a top-ranked team in the country.”
The Gauchos play four games in the Southern Cal Tournament this weekend at Pepperdine and have two home games remaining – Oct. 18 vs. No. 3 USC and Oct. 31 vs. UC Irvine.
SBCC women: The Vaqueros (8-7) went 3-1 in the Cuesta Rabobank Tournament, edging Long Beach 8-7 and host Cuesta 12-10 on Saturday.
Coach Chuckie Roth brought goalie Mackenzie Richards and center Kendra Carr.
“Mackenzie won a CIF championship with Royal High in Simi Valley last year and she’s one of the most polite athletes I’ve coached,” said Roth. “She’s proved that she’s one of the best goalies in the conference, if not the state.
“Kendra Carr is one of the most naturally talented players I’ve ever coached. She’s been scoring 2 to 3 goals a game and has worked her way into the starting lineup.”
The Vaqueros host Cuesta on Wednesday at San Marcos High, starting at 5:20 p.m.
Santa Barbara boys: The Dons are 9-4 and start Channel League play this week. Coach Mark Walsh said none of his players have been to the CIF playoffs and that’s the goal.
The Dons have a busy week, playing DP on Tuesday, Ventura on Thursday, Servite on Friday and Martin Luther King on Saturday.
Walsh brought two senior captains who he says have come a long way in a short time – defender Blake Spiller and goalie Justyn Barrios. Walsh said Barrios was a “JV field player” a few years ago and is now being recruited by major-college programs.
San Marcos boys: The Royals beat Buena in their Channel League opener and took second in the Villa Park Classic. Coach Jeff Ashton said Saturday night’s game was scheduled for 8 p.m. and started around 8:45 p.m.
“It was homecoming at school and our athletes made a real sacrifice to come play in this tournament for the first time,” said Ashton. “We played great all weekend.”
Ashton introduced junior captain Spencer Wood, who scored 17 goals in the tournament including five in the championship game, which the Royals lost 10-7. He also mentioned senior goalie Jack Palmer, who made the all-tourney team along with Wood.
Dos Pueblos boys: Athletic director Dan Feldhaus reported that the Chargers dropped a tough 17-15 decision in overtime at Ventura after leading with 30 seconds to play.
Feldhaus introduced first-year varsity players Madison Montag and Patrick Sterling. DP travels to Santa Barbara on Tuesday.
Carpinteria boys: The Warriors had their biggest game of the year on Friday and dropped a tough 12-8 decision to No. 3 Malibu.
“Malibu has always been very good and they won CIF last year,” noted coach Matt Organista. “We were tied 6-6 in the third quarter and I was very pleased with how we played. That was the lowest goal total for Malibu ever against us and our highest total against them.
“We’re really young with no seniors and we get a chance to play Malibu again at their pool in a few weeks.”
Organista introduced Saul Briceno, who had five steals, and junior Malek Mehii, who’s 26-1 in sprints to the ball at the start of games.
CROSS COUNTRY
Westmont: The Warrior women are ranked 12th in the NAIA and the men are 23rd. They went to Pomona Pitzer last weekend and the team has been battling cold symptoms.
“We had our returning All-American Kelly Collins, who ran real well and got fourth,” said coach Russ Smelley. “She has this bad habit of looking back during the race and with about 600 meters to go, she looked back. I’m proud to tell you that my voice can still carry. I lit her up and yelled ‘The competition is ahead of you, not behind you.’ ”
The Warriors will compete in the GSAC Championships this weekend.
SBCC: Alex Ramirez placed 5th in the WSC Preview at Oxnard College, leading the Vaquero men’s team to a fifth-place finish. The Vaquero men and women will host the SBCC Invitational on Friday at Shoreline Park and Leadbetter Beach, starting at 3 p.m.
San Marcos: Coach Tracy Jenkins introduced Demetra Rishwain and Max Carden as senior leaders who are doing the right things to lead the team. She also talked about David Dinklage, who she said “could be one of the best distance runners San Marcos has ever had.”
The Royals will compete in Channel League meet No. 2 on Wednesday at Arroyo Verde Park in Ventura.
Laguna Blanca: Coach David Silverander says his girls team has “quadrupled to four runners” but is still one shy of a full team. He introduced senior Kylin Ting and sophomore Clay Rogers from the boys team.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Providence: Coach Dave Goss was worried about the readiness of his team after they attended a school retreat in Ojai where he knew they would get little sleep time. “They came back looking like characters from ‘The Walking Dead’ but we were still able to beat Thacher 3-0 on Saturday,” Goss noted.
Goss introduced Natali Torres and Keara Rutz. Torres had 10 kills on Saturday and Rutz, an outstanding beach volleyball player, provides great ball control.
Hop Studios