Santa Ynez had visiting CIF Division XI power Nordhoff on the ropes in the first half of Friday night's week-two clash at Pirate Field - staking itself to a 10-6 lead on Billy Peters' 22-yard touchdown pass to receiver Josh Hartman.

Things looked even better for the Pirates when their short squib kick bounced off a Nordhoff up-man and was recovered by Santa Ynez's Dain Jensen on the Rangers' 36-yard line.

But the visitors from Ojai held Santa Ynez to a three-and-out, and then handed the ball to senior tailback Tyler Whitcomb - who bolted in from 75 yards out for one of his three touchdown runs to give Nordhoff a 13-10 lead before the break.

The Rangers (2-0) never relinquished the lead, taking advantage of a fumble on Santa Ynez's first play from scrimmage in the second half for one of two third-quarter scores en route to a 34-17 road victory.

"One of our players said we've always been a second-half team and I guess that's just what we do. We picked it up in the second half," said Whitcomb. "Our line played really well. Casey (Catlett) blocked really well and ran really well. Our line just fought it out in the trenches and blew everybody away."

Whitcomb - who told his offensive linemen that lunch was on him for their efforts - galloped for 166 yards on 21 carries, while Catlett pounded out 85 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.

"I thought both teams played very well the whole first half and we got that fumble recovery the start of the second and took it in and then the momentum went back to us," said Nordhoff coach Cliff Farrar. "We saw a couple of tendencies and we made the adjustment at halftime and our kids did a real nice job of listening at the half and did just a great job of making those adjustments."

Advertisement

After quickly falling behind by 17 points in the second half, the Pirates stayed composed and put together a five-play, 73-yard scoring drive capped by Hartman's touchdown burst from 41 yards out to cut the deficit to 27-17.

"That shows their character. We're a real built team. These guys have a lot of character and they're real strong and they have a great attitude," said Santa Ynez coach Joshua Cunningham. "They're not quitters. There's no doubt about that. They just came up against a team that outmatched us."

But Nordhoff marched right back down the field, starting at its own 36-yard line and finishing in the Santa Ynez end zone with Whitcomb scoring from the one-yard line on fourth-and-goal to seal it.

"That was a real physical football team and they came out real strong, real solid, real consistent," said Cunningham of the Rangers. "They had a good line. They get off the ball really well. That makes a big, big difference when it comes to staying through the game for long haul."

Peters had a solid night for the Pirates, completing 10 of 18 pass attempts for 112 yards and a touchdown. Hartman (60 yards rushing, 39 yards receiving) accounted for both Santa Ynez touchdowns, while place-kicker Ruben Camacho booted a 28-yard field goal in the first half.

"We definitely have a good, solid offense. We can do a lot of things. ... We can score. We can play," said Cunningham, whose squad drops to 0-2 heading into a week-three matchup at Carpinteria. "Right now, we just have to improve on defense and keep improving every week."

The Nordhoff players joined Santa Ynez in a post-game prayer for Pirates junior varsity player Anthony Clark, who was transported by helicopter to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital after sustaining a blow to the head and losing consciousness.

"It's really upsetting our kids, our coaches. We were shedding a lot of tears at halftime about something that has nothing to do with football. It's about a kid," said Cunningham. "That was really scary."

"This was really cool for Nordhoff. That just shows what kind of class their program is because they understand that that's a big deal for our football team and our parents. There's a lot of people affected right now."

Sept. 17, 2005