COD Football reverses the curse over the Vaqueros, 25-20

COD (3-2) rolled to their third straight win and defeated the Santa Barbara City Vaqueros (3-2) for the first time in program history as Tony Williams racked up 186 yards and the defense made a huge goal line stand at the end to give the Roadrunners the game, 25-20.

Freshman linebacker Chris Arnold (Lancaster Eastside) was in complete "Beast Mode" the entire game, recording 17 total tackles, including six solo, plus recording three of the team's five sacks, for a total of 16 yards and four tackles for loss totaling a loss of 17 yards.

Freshman running back Tony Williams (Indio Shadow Hills) rolled up the best rushing performance all season for the Roadrunners, grabbing 27 carries for 186 yards and a touchdown in the 4th quarter, averaging 6.9 yards per carry, with a long of 65 yards.

Freshman kicker and punter Luis Castellanos (Cathedral City H.S.) was nails for the Roadrunners as he hit two field goals of 40+ yards, 41 and 46, connecting on 6 kickoffs, totaling 384 yards, including two touchbacks and 5 punts for 142 yards, including a long of 57 yards.

The Roadrunners would get things started in their first possession of the game when Williams took the very first play from scrimmage and darted 65 yard to the Vaqueros 5 yard line. Moments later freshman running back Demetrius Whitmore (Fairburn (GA) Langston Hughes) rolled into the end zone from three yards out and a failed two-point pass attempt, gave Desert the early 6-0 lead.

In the second quarter, Desert rolled up five and a half minutes of offense as they ran 14 plays over 82 yards, capped off with a two yard scamper by sophomore full back Benjamin Myles (Palatka, FL) and after an extra point by Castellanos, the Roadrunners had a 13-0 lead with 4:29 left in the first half.

Later in the second quarter, Desert used another lengthy drive of over three minutes, 7 plays for 17 yards, to give Castellanos a shot at a 41 yard field goal with 22 second left in the first half, which he made with ease, giving the Roadrunners a 16-0 lead at the break.

What is even more impressive, is that the Vaqueros were completely shut down by the Roadrunners defensive game plan. A Santa Barbara City offense which came into Saturday's game as the number seven scoring offense in the state with a 40.3 points per game average.

In their second possession of the second half, Santa Barbara City would find their offense, as they were pushed along by a Roadrunners defensive penalty, leading to, on the very next play, a 49 yard touchdown pass to get to 16-7. Both teams would see 26 total penalties called, the bulk of which, 15 penalties, were called on Desert, totaling 195 yards.

On the Roadrunners next possession, the Vaqueros defense forced Desert to pun, which ended up being a disaster, as the punt was shanked to the left and bounced out only going eight yards. Santa Barbara City capitalized and three plays later found themselves within two points, 16-14 with 5:01 left in the third quarter.

Desert would get things back on track as they would take the next kick off and grind up over eight and a half minutes of offense, going 55 yards in 18 plays, as Williams capped things off with an 11 yard run to pay dirt. Unfortunately, the Castellanos extra point attempt was blocked, but the Roadrunners held an eight-point advantage, 22-14.

Much like a heavyweight prize fight, neither team was backing down as the Vaqueros took their next possession and marched down the field on 12 plays and over 75 yards, finding the end zone and after their failed two-point conversion, found themselves only down two, 22-20.

On the next series of down for the Roadrunners, on the fourth play of the drive, sophomore running back Kamone Best (Goldsboro (NC) Eastern Wayne) appeared to have fumbled the ball and the Vaqueros recovered, but the ruling on the field said that Best had been down by contact. And just as the momentum appeared to shift towards Santa Barbara City, in one play, that momentum rolled back towards Desert, as the Vaqueros were handed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, keeping the drive alive for the Roadrunners and later leading to a 46 yard field goal by Castellanos, giving Desert a 25-20 lead.

On what would be the final drive of the game for the Vaqueros, on the ninth play of the drive, Santa Barbara City tossed a pass into the end zone and Desert was flagged for pass interference, giving the Vaqueros a fresh set of downs and a first and goal with less than a minute left. After a one yard rush, the "Desert Defense Department" punished the Santa Barbara City quarterback for a seven yard sack by Arnold, two more incomplete passes by the Vaqueros, defended brilliantly by Desert, were the game winner

Going into the game, Desert was 0-6 all-time against the Vaqueros.

Desert has a bye next week and will resume the season in American Division - Mountain Conference play, traveling to Mt. San Jacinto College on October 14th, kick off at 1 p.m.

Photo by Michael Bukraba (mebukraba@gmail.com)
Information, Photos & Story provided by COD Sports Information.