Like a well-oiled machine, the Cabrillo Conquistadores were working on all cylinders in their opening football game of the season.

Amassing over 430 yards in total offense, holding their opponents to 80 yards on the ground and intercepting four passes, the Conqs defeated Pacifica of Oxnard 44-7 in their 2007 opener at Huyck Stadium.

“I was very pleased obviously,” said Cabrillo coach Don Cross. “I mean execution was fantastic for week one. The kids did a good job and were very disciplined.”

Cabrillo scored in their opening drive, on a two-yard plunge by Greg Watson and rolled over a Triton team that had a size advantage and a larger roster. But team speed was a major factor for the Conquistadores as they gained big chunks of yardage on the outside.

Bennie Garrett led Cabrillo with 142 rushing on 19 carries. Watson had a huge game, scoring one rushing touchdown on five carries for 48 yards, catching three passes for 45 yards and for good measure scoring on an 86-yard interception return in the fourth quarter.

On the second Pacifica possession, quarterback Vince Moraga threw the first of his four interceptions into the hands of Garrett, who returned the ball to the Triton 34. When the drive stalled, Jeff Esparza booted a 40-yard field goal to give Cabrillo a 10-0 lead after one quarter.

Junior quarterback Sean Allen ran an efficient offense, completing six-of-seven passes for 101 yards in the game. Cabrillo did score a passing touchdown, but it was Garrett who threw the pass after receiving a hand-off from Allen. He found John Bowman wide open in the end zone for a 24-yard TD completion.

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That score, with 17 seconds remaining in the first half, was preceded by a 72-yard, eight play drive that was finished off by a Matt Rotondi one-yard touchdown run. The big play on the drive was a 37-yard pass from Allen to Whittaker that took the ball to the Pacifica 23.

“He stayed within himself,” Cross said about his starting QB. “He threw the ball to the open guy and tucked it away when there wasn't anybody. He made good decisions, that was impressive.”

“We've been working really hard, so it was nice for it all to finally pay off,” said Allen.

As a sophomore last season, Allen was forced to start four games because of injuries. He said the experience really helped for this year.

“I got most of the butterflies out last year,” he explained, “so this year I just came in and was ready to go to work.”

One concern that Cross did have was the fact that the Conqs had nine penalties, including six for illegal procedure.

“We jumped offside several times on our own count,” Cross explained. “We go on several different snap counts and we've got to work on that. If it's a tighter ballgame, those could make a difference.”

In the second half, Cabrillo kept up the pressure, opening with an 11-play drive that covered 78 yards and ate up four minutes of the clock. After a procedure penalty gave the Conqs a first and 15 from the Triton 41, Garrett ran the ball five straight times, gaining 30 yards.

Watson ran 10 yards for a first and goal at the one. Rotondi scored his second TD with another one-yard run.

Trevor Wagonseller added a ten yard TD run with 1:32 remaining on the clock in the third.

With a 38-0 lead, Cross was able to allow several substitutes to get into the game.

“We played everybody on our squad,” he explained. “Everybody got some playing time and got some experience. They now know what it's like to be out there now - when we need them later on.”

The defense stepped up in a way Cross wasn't able to see in 2006.

“We talked about it all summer. We were embarrassed that we didn't have a single interception last year,” he said about the four interception night. “Then tonight our nose guard had one on a tipped pass.”

Zach Holmes had the interception in the third quarter when the ball was tipped near the line of scrimmage.

The last score came on Watson's 86-yard return in the fourth. Pacifica finally got on the board with 9:33 remaining in the game. Moraga hit Matt Madrid for a 23-yard touchdown pass.

Cross was pleased but not over confident after the first win.

“We have to continue to improve all over the place,” he explained. “Everybody will improve. Next week's opponent Dos Pueblos will improve from what they did this week, so we gotta just keep on improving.”

Cross was happy that so many running backs had some success in the first game and knew that Garrett's speed was going to be a factor.

“He has a lot of speed and can get to the outside,” he said.

“He's really been showing himself as a leader,” Allen said about Garrett, “so it was nice to see him have a good game.

Sept. 8, 2007