Saints find solace in loss to Bearcats

"Victor! Yeah, Victor!"

Santa Maria kicker Victor Velasco's teammates mobbed him on the sideline after Velasco booted a school and Santa Barbara County-record 54-yard field goal with 9:35 left in the fourth quarter Friday night.

The Saints were taking a drubbing from Paso Robles in a non-league game, but they didn't seem to care after Velasco's record setter. Their mood was still upbeat after the Bearcats had rolled to a 51-3 win.

The points were the first for Santa Maria in three weeks.

"Tonight you're part of history," Saints coach Jim Doyle told them afterward. The old Santa Maria - and Santa Barbara County - record was 53 yards, set by John Almaguer in 1973 and then tied by Matt Almaguer in 1986.

"I thought it was good from the time I first made contact with (the ball)," said Velasco. The kick, nearly dead center between the uprights, cleared the crossbar by plenty and landed several yards beyond it.

"That kid has quite a leg," Paso Robles coach Rich Schimke said. "That would have been good from 60."

Paso Robles broke a three-game losing streak and improved to 5-4 overall. Santa Maria is 1-8.

Velasco broke his right wrist while making a tackle against Lompoc two weeks ago. He thought his season was over, but he got a pleasant surprise on Tuesday. Santa Maria team doctor Dennis Blackburn cleared him to play.

"I really wasn't expecting (to be able to play)," said Velasco. "Then our team doctor cleared me to play, and that really picked me up."

Velasco is a senior. He does not know what college he will kick for next. "I'm open to anything right now," he said. "Any offer that looks good, I'll take it."

Billy Kennedy passes of 17 and 36 yards to Fred Smith put the Saints at the Bearcats 28 just prior to Velasco's kick. The drive stalled there. With fourth down from the 29 the Saints took a five-yard delay of game penalty, and Velasco had the yardage necessary to try for the record.

As for the Bearcats, they took a runaway win. Vince Freitas, Paso Robles' 6-3 tailback, constantly overpowered the smaller Saints tacklers. He also took advantage of good blocking from his line as he racked up 188 yards, and four touchdowns, on 10 carries.

He did all that in the first half. Paso Robles led 37-0 at intermission. Freitas' playing time in the second half consisted of one punt and two point-after kicks.

Velasco narrowly missed a 52-yarder in the first half. The kick had plenty of distance but went barely wide left at the last instant.

St. Joseph 20, Morro Bay 19

MORRO BAY - The Knights (4-1, 6-3) sewed up the Los Padres League's second playoff seed.

The Pirates dropped to 3-2, 5-4. Morro Bay plays at Santa Ynez at 7 p.m. next Friday in a game that will decide who gets the third and last LPL guaranteed playoff spot.

Sean Wolfe scored the Knights' touchdowns Friday night on tough runs of 3 and 1 yard. Tim Schweigert kicked field goals of 35 and 37 yards.

Schweigert's two field goals gave St. Joseph its last points. Morro Bay scored on fourth down from the Knights 2 with 1:08 left after recovering a Knights fumble deep in St. Joseph territory.

The Knights stopped the two-point conversion attempt.

Santa Ynez 35, Cabrillo 14

SANTA YNEZ - The Pirates (3-2, 4-5) kept their playoff hopes alive and put the Conquistadores (2-3, 3-6) out of the post-season hunt.

Tanner Belen led the Pirates with 114 yards on 19 carries. He scored one touchdown. Clayton Barr scored on runs of 3 and 6 yards. He also returned a Cabrillo fumble 31 yards for a touchdown.

Matt Hansen threw 66 yards to Raphael McKinney for one Cabrillo touchdown and 31 yards to Chris Stephens for another. The Pirates held star Cabrillo back Lydell Sargeant to 20 yards on 12 carries.

Lompoc 53, Nipomo 0

LOMPOC - At Huyck Stadium, Joseph Scott scored four touchdowns and amassed a total of 187 yards on just nine carries as the Braves (5-0, 7-2) wrapped up the top playoff seed in the LPL and a tie for the league championship.

Nipomo, which got 67 yards on 14 carries from Thomas Delay, finished its first varsity season 0-6, 1-8

Maricopa 46, VCA 8

Now all the Lions (2-3, 4-4) can do is wait and hope for good news on Monday morning after getting routed at home.

"I'm going to petition the CIF (for a wild-card berth)," VCA coach Stan Bickley said. "Who knows? We may have a chance to get in since we're in small schools." Bickley said he will have his answer at 9:30 a.m. Monday

VCA's lone touchdown came on a 53-yard pass-and-run from quarterback Matt Stanford to wide receiver Wesley Spraul in the second quarter. Spraul caught the two-point conversion pass from Stanford. That made it 20-8.

Water polo

RHS wins PAC-5 title

SAN LUIS OBISPO - The defending CIF Division IV champions won their 10th straight league title by beating Atascadero 9-7 and then San Luis Obispo 12-3 in the PAC-5 League Tournament at Sinsheimer Pool.

Scott Turton, Mike Tucker and Greg McGilvray scored twice each against Atascadero. Tucker put in three goals, and Turton and Mike Van Galio scored twice apiece against San Luis Obispo.

College Men's basketball

Porterville 91, Hancock 79

PORTERVILLE - Dominic Perry led Porterville with 21 points as the Bulldogs went down in their season opener.

Sophomore Donnie Jones, who graduated from Santa Maria, led Hancock with 13 points. Kevin Rogers had 12, Aaron Severenson added 11, and Don English put in 10.

Cross country

Wolfe qualifies for state

WALNUT - Hancock freshman Kelly Wolfe qualified for the State Cross Country meet by finishing 26th in the women's race at the Southern California Regionals at Mt. San Antonio College.

Hancock's Mike Spence finished 96th in 23:33 in the men's race. He did not qualify for the state meet.

Volleyball

Moorpark 3, Hancock 0

The Raiders, who are ranked fifth in California, overpowered the Bulldogs, 30-16, 30-21, 30-14 in a Western State Conference match at Joe White Memorial Gym.

Gelaldine Misa'alefua led the Bulldogs (1-5, 4-9) with eight kills, seven digs and two blocks. Jesslyn Tilley chipped in with seven blocks and four kills for Hancock.

The Bulldogs play at Ventura at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Men's soccer

Citrus 5, Hancock 3

GLENDORA - The Bulldogs (5-8-2, 7-9-3) led 3-0 at halftime, then lost to one of the weakest teams in the conference.

Coach Al Garcia said the loss ends any hope Hancock had of qualifying for the Southern California Regional Tournament. The Bulldogs finish their season with a 3 p.m. home game Monday against Taft.

Women's soccer

SB 5, Hancock 0

SANTA BARBARA - The Bulldogs (1-11, 1-18) were shut out in their 2003 finale.

Hancock coach Cherif Maghni praised Erica Grigg and Adrianne Ainsworth for their defense against Santa Barbara.

"The girls worked very hard this year," Maghni said. "I have no complaints."

November 8, 2003