Steve De St. Jean, Colby McKissack and a blitzing Cabrillo defense swarmed over Dos Pueblos quarterback Conner Rehage for eight sacks and pressured him numerous other times to score a 9-6 victory in a gritty defensive struggle Friday night at Huyck Stadium.

Cabrillo scored early in the second quarter after Brian Gregory laid out a perfect 40-yard pass which Eric Evans took over his shoulder despite double coverage. Evans was downed at the one from where Vai Taua carried over for the touchdown.

Rehage threw for a 30-yard TD pass to Paul Starr late in the quarter but Shane Micheel's PAT try was wide.

Cabrillo added two points in the third quarter when De St. Jean blocked a punt by Nathan Weighill into and out of the end zone for a safety.

The Conquistador sacks totaled 41 yards which cut the 108 yards the Chargers gained through the air to a net 67.

"We said last Saturday we're going to blitz this kid," said Cabrillo coach Don Cross.

"We went for speed up front and the kids executed perfectly. After a while the kid is going to start throwing sooner."

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Cross positioned linebackers De St. Jean and Taua on the line of scrimmage and De St. Jean delivered four sacks personally including the final two DP plays of the game.

The Charger running game totaled 71 yards and was able to move the ball in the middle of the field but not inside the 20.

"They surprised us as to how good they were," said Charger coach Jeff Uyesaka afterward.

DP had battled San Luis Obispo to a 24-24 tie two weeks ago. They are now 0-2-1.

Cabrillo's offense was held as well, to only 145 total yards.

The victory gives Cabrillo a 3-0 record as the Conqs enter Los Padres League action next week opposite Santa Ynez.

Santa Barbara 17, Righetti 7

The county rivals had another hard-fought game at Peabody Stadium on Friday night, and for the first time in four years, the Dons came out on top of the Warriors.

Reid Lathan scampered for 111 yards on 20 carries and scored both Santa Barbara touchdowns. Justin Fareed banged for another 95 yards on 22 carries, and tight end Bo Bramel caught three passes for 63 yards.

Lathan opened the scoring with a 9-yard quarterback keeper that ended with a dive over the left pylon. It capped an 83-yard drive after Jonathan Landel had recovered a Righetti fumble at the Dons 17.

Righetti threatened to score in every quarter but got only one touchdown when Chad Stephens broke away on a 73-yard dash. A down-field block by Adam Wilson helped spring the 5-foot-8, 170-pound tailback for his eighth TD of the season. It tied the score 7-7 with 3:51 left in the opening period.

But Stephens injured his left knee when he was dumped for a loss by Mike Zazueta on Righetti's next possession, and he left the game with 117 yards on just eight carries.

"I hope he's OK," Dons coach Craig Moropoulos said. "He's so small and so hard to tackle."

The Warriors were stalled by two offensive pass interference penalties in the third quarter, and interceptions by Robert Riskin and Lathan stopped them in the final period.

Righetti pounded out 258 yards on the ground despite losing Stephens.

"Chad going down was huge," said Cody Denham, who ran for 45 yards. "We couldn't mentally pull it together."

Carpinteria 42, Santa Ynez 28

Carpinteria made the most of an electric night at Memorial Valley Stadium, celebrating the 55th anniversary of the Warriors' rivalry with Santa Ynez by winning 42-28 behind the huge performance by quarterback Steven Brantingham.

"We came to win tonight." Brantingham said, winning the annual MVP award. He racked up 182 rushing yards and five touchdowns, plus 124 passing yards on 17 attempts.

The senior also made several big tackles throughout the entire game, capping off the victory with a sack in the final minutes. But his dynamic control of the Warrior offense was masterful, producing 400 total yards.

Along with its stellar offense, Carpinteria's defense was tough despite giving up 28 points. Lead by the play of junior linebacker Robert Murillo, the Warrior defense could only contain running back Josh Hartman, who rushed for 110 yards on only five carries, including a 55-yard burst for a touchdown.

SLO 34, San Marcos 31

After a seven-play, 37-yard drive that featured seven runs by Tiger tailback Stuart Hill (who gained 256 yards on 32 carries), Darren Lefever kicked a 21-yard field goal with two seconds left for the game-winner.

Just more than three minutes earlier, Michael Hodson's 32-yard kick tied the game for San Marcos. Just more than three minutes earlier, Michael Hodson's 32-yard kick tied the game for San Marcos.

San Marcos nearly pulled the upset against the No. 8-ranked team in the CIF's Division 4 rankings. The Royals held a 28-24 lead at the halftime and gained 333 of total offense, a marked departure from their opening two contests (losses by a combined 93-28 margin).

Dixon, who gained 90 rushing yards for the game, scored on sidewinding runs of 35 and 28 yards during that stretch.

He also added a 24-yard touchdown catch on a screen pass nine seconds before halftime.

Ely completed 13-of-24 throws for 190 yards, including a memorable 35-yard scoring toss to Joe Gutierrez with 9:13 left in the second quarter.

Improvising to avoid the rush on 4th-and-8, Ely found Gutierrez in the end zone to put San Marcos up 21-14.

The Royals had no answer for Hill, who had all but six of the San Luis Obispo carries on the night.

Reports from the Santa Barbara News-Press contributed to this roundup.

Sept. 24, 2005