The league-leading Santa Maria Saints powered past the Cabrillo Conquistadores 44-14 Friday night at Dave Boyd Field in Santa Maria.

It's been more than a decade since Santa Maria could lay claim to leading their league, but here they are, atop the Los Padres League after the first week of the LPL season.

This is the first year for the Saints in the LPL, having moved over from the now-defunct Northern League and after Friday night's lopsided win Santa Maria sits atop the standings at 1-0. They also evened up their overall 2002 season record at 2-2 with the win.

Both teams seemed to be battling nerves, as much as they fought each other, as the game began. But after a shaky start, it was all Santa Maria.

Conq's coach Patt Foster opened the game with a trick play, attempting an onside kick on the game's opening play. His team recovered, but the ball didn't travel the necessary ten yards, so Santa Maria got the ball in excellent field position.

The plays, three runs, three times the Conqs were ready. Time for a Victor Velasco punt.

Cabrillo quarterback Matt Hansen came out in a shotgun formation, a formation the team stayed with most of the night.

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And the passing began. Pass to Adam Drake good for 46 yards. Hansen back to pass, sacked by Matt Leyden. Pass to Drake, incomplete. Holding penalty and Cabrillo has a fourth and 25.

The pattern for this game was set.

Cabrillo would present a never-ending air game, Santa Maria coach Jim Doyle would direct an unrelenting, grind-it-out running attack.

"We were slow to start and that concerned me," Doyle said. "We settled down, started moving the ball. At the end I felt pretty good. The kids finished well."

Santa Maria filled the backfield with three backs. Quarterback Brad Bowen had the option of keeping the ball or having Pablo Ramos, Pete Gonzalez or Adam Gomes pound the ball against a valiant Cabrillo defense. 6'5", 330 pound senior Luis Espinosa, returning from an injury last week, anchored the offensive line that continuously pushed the Conq defenders back and opened gaping holes for the talented quartet to exploit.

It was all Ramos the third time Santa Maria had the ball. Pablo for 4 yards, 6 yards, then breaking through for a 54-yard touchdown run.

Victor Velasco's extra point was good. It was 7-0 with 4:53 left in the first quarter and the rout was on.

The Saints began a drive at the end of the first quarter. It went 14 plays, all runs, ending with Ramos' second touchdown, this one from 39 yards out. Velasco's PAT made it 14-0 Saints with 8:49 left in the half.

On the next series, Cabrillo was facing a fourth a ten at their own 22. They lined up to punt but coach Foster called for a fake punt with punter Nick Sauls attempting a pass to Ryan Herard. It fell short and the Saints took over at the Cabrillo 22.

Ramos gained 3 yards. Bowen faked a handoff to Ramos, kept the ball, and powered into the endzone for a 19-yard touchdown. Again Velasco's PAT was good and it was 21-0 with 6:47 left in the half.

Cabrillo's Hansen connected with Herard for a 42 yard gain to open the next drive. Three plays later they were facing a third and one at the Saints' 29 yard line. Hansen tried a quarterback sneak, dropped the ball, and junior defensive lineman Brandon Delaney picked it up and motored all the way to the end zone. His 71 yard romp gave Santa Maria a 27-0 lead. A bad snap on the PAT kept Velasco from getting the extra point.

A Santa Maria fumble was picked up by Cabrillo senior linebacker Daniel Schuler-Jones who nearly duplicated Delaney's feat, rumbling 67 yards to the one yard line before being brought down by Bowen. Hansen's sneak got Cabrillo on the scoreboard before the half ended and Eric Wilson's PAT made it 27-7.

The game was stopped for about 30 minutes after Gomes' touchdown because Cabrillo senior linebacker Nick Arnold was injured on the play.

As both teams raced downfield in pursuit of Gomes, Arnold lay motionless at midfield. The Santa Maria team doctor, coaches from both teams and Arnold's parents raced to mid-field. Emergency teams were called in with an ambulance crew and Santa Maria Fire Department emergency medical personnel arriving within minutes.

Arnold was taken to Marian Medical Center. At press time, Arnold was still in the emergency room. According to a hospital spokeswoman, he was being evaluated and treated. Since he is a teenager, no other information could be provided at press time.

Paso Robles 33, St. Joseph 7

PASO ROBLES -- Vince Freitas scored on runs of 1, 4 and 2 yards as the Bearcats (3-1) had no trouble keeping the Knights (0-4) winless.

Paso Robles had all its points before St. Joseph scored on Matt Crist's 30-yard pass to Luis Escobar in the fourth quarter.

Balance on offense helped the Bearcats sink St. Joseph. Paso Robles had 180 yards rushing and 162 more passing. The Knights mustered just 165 yards of total offense.

Michael Krouse barely missed a 100-yard rushing night. The Bearcats' top rusher settled for 97 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. The Knights had 107 yards on 34 rushes.

Lompoc 52, Santa Ynez 7

LOMPOC -- The Braves scored two touchdowns in the first six minutes of play and never looked back, as their defense kept the Pirates' offense out of the end zone all night in their LPL opener.

The Braves (2-2) scored six touchdowns on the ground, led by three scores from fullback Robert Adams, who rushed for 65 yards in the win. Joey Gastelo led the attack with 73 yards on 10 carries, highlighted by a 37-yard touchdown run in the first minute of the second half.

Santa Ynez (0-4) scored its lone touchdown when Chad Bratcher returned a first-quarter kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown.

AG 28, Valecia (Placentia) 21

ARROYO GRANDE -- The Eagles went to 4-0 thanks to Dustin Robertson's 5-yard run in the fourth quarter for the winning touchdown.

Arroyo Grande seemed all set for an easy win after going ahead 21-0 in the second quarter. Valencia tied the game on two touchdown passes by Stephen Wright after Charles Burnley's 37-yard scoring run.

Atascadero 20, Rio Mesa 14

OXNARD -- The Greyhounds won one on the road and pushed their record to 3-1.

Brennan Myracle helped the 'Hounds have a happy bus ride home by booting field goals of 41 and 32 yards. Quarterback Harrison Higbee connected with Sean Kennedy for an 88-yard touchdown pass, and Higbee scored on a 2-yard run in the second quarter.

VCA 35, Cuyama Valley 0

NEW CUYAMA -- Tim Barber rushed for 179 yards on 22 carries and scored four touchdowns as the Lions (2-0, 2-2) remained perfect in Coast Valley League play with a win over the Bears.

The Lions took a 21-0 lead into halftime, then put the game away with a 4 1/2-minute scoring drive that took all the wind out of the Bears' sails.

Barber's longest scoring run came from 20 yards out.

VCA returns home for Homecoming next Saturday, hosting Bakersfield Christian at 1 p.m.

Water polo

Villa Park Tournament

VILLA PARK -- Righetti earned a measure of respect at the tournament, earning a 9-8 victory over CIF Division IV foe Santa Barbara, the division's top-ranked team.

Matt Dale had four goals in the win for the Warriors, while Nick McGilvray and Scott Turton added two each.

October 5, 2002