San Marcos travels to Dos Pueblos on Friday for the Battle of Goleta Valley
Postseason hopes may have darkened for the football teams at San Marcos and Dos Pueblos high schools, but there is still one Friday Night Light to bask in:
This week’s Battle of Goleta Valley, set for 7 p.m. at DP’s Scott O’Leary Stadium.
The coaches for both the Royals (2-4, 0-4 Channel League) and Chargers (3-4, 1-4) found some silver linings in their defeats last week.
San Marcos rallied before dropping a 28-21 thriller at Ventura.
“I was so pleased with our effort and the way our guys responded,” Royals coach Ralph Molina said during Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon at Harry’s Plaza Cafe. “We’re going to need it going into Dos Pueblos. Those guys play us tough every year.
“But we’re going to take the momentum from this effort and look forward to a big, big game. You throw the records out the window because this is for Goleta Valley bragging rights.”
Chargers coach A.J. Pateras said the leadership qualities he saw in quarterback Ryan Marsh last week bode well for DP despite its 48-7 defeat to Oxnard.
“Ryan has been asked to do a lot this year,” he said. “We changed up the offense a little bit, put a little bit different structure in place, and said, ‘Here Ryan, we’re going to put this into your lap and you tell us what you can handle.
“A lot of the guys are looking to him to get lined up correctly. And then we’re asking him to read the field, not get tackled or throw interceptions, and make the right play. And last week, he did just that.”
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
San Marcos
Two seniors who turned their careers around in the offseason — center Gustavo Dorado and wide receiver Arturo Luna —are being asked to help halt San Marcos’ four-game losing streak.
“Both of these guys were backup players a year ago and didn’t get a lot of playing time,” Molina said. “But talk about guys who really committed to the program.
“Gustavo wanted to play, he didn’t want to be on the sidelines, and he’s worked really hard. Even when he makes a mistake, he keeps plugging away. Arturo got the flu and lost a lot of weight, but he’s one of our fastest guys.”
Dos Pueblos
A talented target is emerging for Marsh. Brett Jones, who played tight end last season, has been moved wide in the Chargers’ new formation.
“He’s got all the tangible skill sets to highlight that,” Pateras said. “He made a couple of great catches (against Oxnard) —a short catch that he turned into a pretty big play down our sideline — and then a nice, acrobatic catch over the middle that continued a drive.
“Brett is going to be a big part of this week and the rest of the season … You can see his maturity and his growth as a young man.”
Bishop Diego
The challenges only get tougher for the Cardinals in their maiden flight in the skies of the Marmonte League
St. Bonaventure, ranked 36th in the state and 25th in the CIF-Southern Section by CalPreps, had to stop a two-point conversion run in the final seconds to foil Bishop’s league debut, 21-20. The Cardinals (4-2), who are ranked 62nd in the state and 39th in the section, will face another stiff test when they play Oaks Christian (ranked 33rd and 23rd, respectively) on Friday at Santa Barbara City College’s La Playa Stadium.
“A brutal way to start,” mused Bishop athletic director Aaron Skinner, the team’s defensive coordinator.
But he has plenty of Cardinals up for the task, he added.
Defensive back Roy Luvu, who often guards receivers one-on-one as Bishop’s “short boundary corner,” proved his mettle in recent games against St. Pius X and St. Bonaventure.
“St. Pius had a three-star receiver, and St. Bonaventure had someone who’s made plays for them all year, and Roy shut both of those guys down,” Skinner said. “The St. Pius kid didn’t get a catch and the St. Bonaventure guy had just one play when it wasn’t (Luvu’s) responsibility to make the deep play.
“He worked incredibly hard during the offseason. He’s gotten an offer from Cal Poly, and I’m sure he’ll be getting a couple more as the season goes on.”
Defensive end Harrison Boeddeker, who also plays some fullback, triggered the last-minute comeback against St. Bonaventure by ripping the ball away from a Seraphs’ running back.
“He’s probably a little undersized to play D-end for the level we’re playing at, but man, is he a tough, tough kid,” Skinner said of the 6-foot and 185-pound senior. “He loves contact … and this week, he’s going against a left tackle who approaches 6-6 and 320 (pounds).
“He’s developing a pretty good pass rush. The last two games, he’s had critical sacks for us.”
Laguna Blanca
The Owls improved their eight-man football record to 3-2 with a 52-12 rout over New Designs.
“Gabe Lea had another great game, catching five passes for a total of 122 yards and three touchdowns,” defensive coordinator Harrison Crowley said. “He also had an interception.
“Ethan Carrington is a sophomore who started his first game this week at tight end, and he helped block for us to get over 300 yards in rushing.”
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Santa Barbara City College
Brandon Smith’s school-record, 260-yard rushing performance in a 30-14 win at Glendale extended the Vaqueros’ winning streak to four games. But while coach Craig Moropoulos considers Smith to be “one of finest running backs I’ve ever been around, at every level that I’ve been at,” he introduced two other players who have also contributed mightily.
Math genius Blake Vollbrecht, a defensive back, added an interception, a forced fumble that he recovered and two key solo tackles to the SBCC’s winning equation.
“He’s taking the highest math class you can be taking at Santa Barbara City College,” Moropoulos said. “What’s it called? Differential equations? I can barely spell that.”
Quarterback Alex Johnson, who threw a trio of interceptions in SBCC’s season-opening loss to Hancock and then missed several games with COVID, managed Saturday’s game well while completing 10-of-16 passes with no interceptions for 94 yards.
“He did a fantastic job, was even-keeled, very team-oriented,” Moropoulos said. “He didn’t cry and moan when he wasn’t playing after the first game of the season, and it shows a lot for his character.”
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Santa Barbara
The Dons (10-1 Channel League) took fourth in their own prestigious Tournament of Champions and completed a sweep of their two city rivals last week by defeating Dos Pueblos. Round Table Female Athlete of the Week Nicole Scheutz, a 6-2 sophomore, led the way against DP with nine kills, seven blocks and three aces.
“Nicole is so focused and is such a hard worker,” coach Kristin Hempy said. “She gives the best eye contact in practice, when I’m giving directions or going over something.
“She’s improved a lot throughout the season and she has so much ahead of her. We obviously love her in the middle because she’s got height, which is great, but it’s more than that. It’s the determination and the improvement of technique.”
Junior Serena Byrd was also “really huge” against the Chargers at the opposite position while also playing “really great defense in the tournament against some really talented teams,” Hempy said.
“I really appreciate Serena’s perseverance,” she added. “She’s always working hard. She’s always checking in, asking, ‘What can I do? How can I adjust?’ And when it does click and come together for her, it’s really exciting.”
San Marcos
The Royals (9-2) are just a game out of first place, with both of their losses to the Dons. A pair of seniors — Eloise McGibben and outside hitter Kaylin Cooney — have co-head coach Tina Brown excited about their playoff prospects. The Royals are ranked sixth in this week’s CIF-Southern Section Division 4 poll.
“Eloise is probably the best middle in the league — she’s committed to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi,” Brown said. “She really came alive last week against Ventura.
“We were down 22-15 and we called timeout. We went, ‘Eloise, this is your time.’ She literally became unstoppable from that point on. She had 10 kills in 15 attempts with zero errors, five digs, five aces. She just dominated the game.”
Cooney has returned from a bout of illness to give San Marcos some added punch at the opposite position.
“She’s a tough server, a great blocker, a great attacker,” Brown said. “We see her getting better and better, which will be great for us going into the playoffs.”
Carpinteria
Outside hitters Lizbeth Alpizar and Ainslee Alexander helped the Warriors sweep last week’s matches against Channel Islands and Hueneme.
“It’s been fun watching the progress Lizbeth has made with her skills,” Stephen Kim said while reading a statement from head coach Greg Novak. “She’s turning into a great asset on the front and back rows and improves every day.
“Ainslee is the team captain. On the court, she contributes with great defense, and off the court she contributes with great leadership.”
BOYS WATER POLO
Carpinteria
The Warriors are looking tournament tough after a miraculous 14-13 upset victory over Ventura, the 10 th-ranked team in CIF-SS Division 2. Goalkeeper Jacob Taff earned Round Table Male Athlete of the Week honors by making 14 saves and throwing a pool-length shot that beat the buzzer for the winning goal.
Senior captain Justin Main scored the tying goal late in the fourth quarter. Taff then rebounded a Ventura miss with four seconds remaining and heaved in the game-winner.
Coach Stephen Kim noticed him practicing his shot before the match.
“I asked him, ‘When are you ever going to shoot in a game?’” he said. “And sure enough, it came around and I had to bite my own tongue. He’s very independent. He pushes himself very hard.”
Kim also introduced Griffin Yamaoka, a valuable utility player.
“He’s a ball handler, he plays good defense, he drives, he shoots …He does it all,” Kim said. “He’s doing a good job in adapting to his new role, and he’s super-dependable.”
San Marcos
A pair of juniors — Nic Prentice and Luke Burns — have helped the Royals assume first place in the Channel League with a 4-0 record (13-7 overall). They are ranked fourth in CIF-SS Division 2.
Prentice, who scored seven goals against rival DP two weeks ago, got seven more in a win over Ventura.
“When we jumped from the DP game to the Villa Park Tournamen, he scored 33 goals over six games,” coach Peera Sukavivatanachai said. “He’s super-athletic, super-talented. We’re very fortunate to have an athlete like Nic Prentice.”
He added that Burns, the Royals’ primary setter, “has a kinetic presence in the water.”
“He demands and pulls attention from a lot of defenders, oftentimes being double-teamed, triple-teamed,” Sukavivatanachai said. “It creates a lot of scoring opportunities for his teammates.”
Santa Barbara
The Dons (16-5, 4-0 Channel League) will try to keep pace with the Royals when they play host to Dos Pueblos (13-5, 3-1) in a critical match today at 3:15 p.m.
Coach Mark Walsh has his team in contention despite losing all but one starter, setter Landin Romo, from last year’s team.
“Landin was just a defensive specialist last year,” Walsh said. “We have another player who’s filled his role this year so his role has switched more to offense … He’s been setting a lot more.
“He’s really good one-on-one, has really good legs, holds position well, can score. He’s solid all the way around the pool for us. He’s motivated to do well this year and has been a great leader.”
John Shafer has been a key playmaker, Walsh added.
“A lot of our plays run through him,” he said. “He’s just a really good passer. Finds open guys. More times than not, he can see tiny spots where he can get guys the ball and they’re able to get easier goals than they normally would.”
Dos Pueblos
The Chargers have been coming on strong of late, with wins over such teams as CIF-SS Division 2 power La Serna. The Lancers dropped from No. 4 to No. 6 in the division after their loss to DP.
Pateras quoted coach Chris Parrish as praising juniors Reggie Robles, the DP goalkeeper, and defender Aden Bishop in stifling La Serna’s offense.
“Reggie is really beginning to understand our system and is now leading the team in steals,” he said. “He made some huge blocks in our game against La Serna and held the Lancers to a single goal in the final quarter to seal the win.
“Aden is quickly becoming one of our most reliable defenders, and he continues to improve his shooting. He is a key matchup defender and has been doing an amazing job in the second half of our contests once we are able to make adjustments on our own.”
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
UC Santa Barbara Women
The Gauchos (8-6, 4-0 Big West Conference) rallied from a 12-20 deficit for a 26-24 win in the fourth set to clinch a stunning victory over Cal Poly in a match televised by ESPNU last Friday.
Assistant coach Matt Jones admitted that they had already looked past the fourth set by bringing in substitute setter Grace McIntosh. They were looking to get starter Mehana Ma’a to “mentally re-set for the fifth set.”
“And with the other setter in, we started chipping away, and the next thing we know it’s 24-all,” Jones said. “The last one came after the libero (Macali Peed) dug the ball off her foot against Cal Poly’s best player.
“It was just one of those nights. You don’t get those very often, and it was on national TV, so it was very fun to be a part of that.”
UCSB will try to extend its sixth-match winning streak at rival Long Beach State on Friday at 7 p.m.
Westmont Women
The Warriors (12-4, 6-2 Golden State Athletic Conference) spent most of last Friday on the freeways.
“It took us four hours to get down there, and the match lasted only one hour and eight minutes,” coach Ruth McGolpin said of their road trip to San Diego Christian. “We crushed them, 25-15, 25-10, 25-7. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a college match where we held a team to under 10 (points).
“Then we turned around, four hours back, to play a 7 o’clock match on Saturday.”
The long trip took its toll that next day, with Westmont losing its first two sets to Life Pacific in a match it would eventually lose, 3-2.
“What I’m most proud about is that we didn’t cave,” McGolpin said, noting that the Warriors are now tied with Life Pacific for second place in the GSAC, one game behind Vanguard.
SBCC Women
Redshirt freshman Mikayla Butzke, a setter from Dos Pueblos, engineered last Friday’s 3-1 upset over Ventura, the state’s second-ranked team.
“She led the team in both assists (17) and kills (eight in 11 swings with no errors),” said athletic director LaDeane Hansten while speaking for coach Kat Niksto. “It was a playoff-like atmosphere in the gym, and so exciting to finally feel like we’re starting to realize our team’s potential.”
COLLEGE WATER POLO
SBCC Women
Coach Chuckie Roth won a state championship in 2017 and finished second in both 2016 and 2021, but s this year’s team is fast becoming his “favorite.”
“It’s green in a lot of ways and a little inexperienced, but athletically they’re very talented and extremely committed,” he said. “With those things, they have a chance to do something very special this year.”
Roth pointed out that Gabrielle Muehring “is one of my most naturally gifted athletes.” Her sister Erika played on SBCC’s state championship team of 2017.
“Gabby is a special one,” he said. “I met her when she was visiting her sisters one time. You never know how things are going to go, and here’s where it went.
“She has so much upward growth potential and has been learning so much every single day.”
He’s also high on freshman goalkeeper Ava Donleavy, whose Acalanes High School team went 53-0 the last two years.
“She’s a great talent in the goal,” Roth said. “She commands the team with a lot of passion and has a lot of presence in the cage … She’s really made a difference for us this year.”
UCSB Men
The Gauchos (7-9, 0-1 Big West Conference) have held steady at No. 8 in the NCAA polls, with five wins over teams ranked in the top 13. They just missed upsetting No. 2 Cal and No. 5 USC recently after leading both teams at halftime.
“The seniors have been playing pretty well, particularly Sam Nangle,” sports information assistant Michael Jorgensen said. “He’s been dominating inside at center … Leads the team in goals and drawn exclusions.”
COLLEGE GOLF
SBCC Women
The Vaqueros displayed a lot of depth at Western State Conference Mini-Tournament No. 3 at the Los Robles Golf Course, earning its third-straight top-three finish.
“Out of 35 golfers, all five Vaqueros finished in the top 19,” Hansten said. “Sophomore Carlee Steven tied for sixth with an 84. Santa Ynez High School graduate Emily Ruiz had a standout performance for the Vaqueros, highlighted by a birdie on the 18th hole.
“The freshman tied for 12th overall shooting a 95, which was her highest individual finish and her best score yet.”
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