Glendale College showed off its full potential against Santa Barbara City College on Oct. 30 at Sartoris Field, even though in the end Santa Barbara managed to end this nail biter by posting a final score of 27-21.
Slideshow Media Credit: Richard Kontas
The first quarter kicked off with a Santa Barbara 11-play, 55-yard drive, culminating in a three-yard pass which scored the first touchdown of the game at 9:28.
The beginning of the second quarter had similar results as Santa Barbara scored yet another touchdown with a seven-play, 90-yard drive, resulting in a 34-yard pass, making the score 14-0 at 9:38.
Hope for the Vaqueros began to slip after the second Santa Barbara touchdown, although Glendale’s running back, Antonio Bray, fired back with a seven-play, 63-yard drive which lead to a 19-yard touchdown run, putting them back in the game.
The stands, which were crammed with Vaquero fans, erupted in cheers as Bray stormed into the end zone.
Unfortunately for the Vaqs, their struggles continued moments later as Santa Barbara scored once again with a 69-yard drive over five plays, capped off by a 38-yard touchdown run at 7:50.
Yet again, Santa Barbara’s aggression toppled Glendale with a 60-yard drive over six plays leading to an 18-yard pass for another touchdown, coming at 2:10, and bringing the score to 27-7. Fortunately for the Vaqueros, Santa Barbara missed the field goal attempt for the extra point.
The second half is where Glendale really showed off its potential and talent. Glendale’s wide receiver, Patrick Donahue, scored a touchdown on an impressive 34-yard pass from quarterback Steven Batista at 3:58 in the third quarter. The score capped a nine-play, 90-yard drive, making the score 27-14. The Vaqueros’ morale rose and the motivation could be seen in their plays.
In the fourth quarter, Donahue scored once again on a 15-yard pass from Batista at 13:58, capping a 7-play, 81-yard drive, which brought the Vaquero fans to their feet. The score following the touchdown was 27-21.
A final attempt by Glendale to win the game ended in defeat as a pass to Reinaldo Reyes slipped through his fingertips and fell incomplete.
“It seems to be the reoccurring nightmare,” Head Coach John Rome said. “We can’t seem to break this cycle.”
“We put ourselves in positions to make great plays at the end.” “We dig ourselves a hole. We don’t quite finish up.”
The Vaqueros’ pattern has been to struggle through the first half of their games, than in the second half they manage to make impressive plays and nearly land victories.
“I’d like to see us eliminate defensive and offensive mistakes at the beginning,” Rome said.
“I don’t know how much closer we could get. We have to have more heart at the beginning of the game,” Rome said. “Every week we are down before half time.”
Coming back from behind is going to be a hard habit to break. “We started out a little slow, but the second half is always the best for us. We have to fix the little mistakes,” Bray said.
The last game of the season will be held on Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. at Los Angeles Southwest College.