Vaqueros stage one of biggest comebacks ever to beat Hancock 43-40

Neither wind nor rain nor playing a rare football game on a grass field could deter SBCC on Saturday as the Vaqueros erased a 19-point third-quarter deficit to rally past Hancock 43-40 in an American Pacific League opener at Hancock.

After trailing 40-21 with 5:59 to go in the third quarter, the Vaqueros (5-1, 1-0) scored three touchdowns the rest of the way and forced four straight Hancock punts. The Vaqueros, ranked No. 25 in the state, staged one of the best comebacks in school history to win their fifth in a row. They've scored 40 or more in all six games this season.

The Vaqueros beat Hancock for the fourth straight time but still trail in the all-time series 31-24-1.

Santa Barbara was down 40-35 when it took over on its own 20 with 1:52 to play and no timeouts. Hancock came close to a pair of interceptions and the Vaqueros converted two fourth downs in the 80-yard game-winning march.

"In my 31 years of coaching, that's the best win ever," said 10th-year SBCC coach Craig Moropoulos. "I've been around some big wins but to come back from 40-21 down in the second half, that was impressive. Our guys never gave up, we fought and scrambled the whole way."

On fourth-and-10 from the Hancock 41, Jonathan Licea came in at wide receiver in place of the injured Jason-Matthew Sharsh. Quarterback Noah Holle heaved the ball toward the goal line and Hancock safety Thomas Leggett tipped it and it fell into the hands of Licea at the 1.

"It was something else, we never gave up," said Licea, a 6-6 freshman from Bakersfield. "I just played it all the way through. I wish my mom was here to see this. I love these guys, they're like brothers to me."

The clock ran down to 34 seconds and Cedric Cooper couldn't punch it in. The Vaqueros quickly lined up for another try and Cooper scored over right tackle with 20 seconds to play. SBCC went for the 2-point conversion and Holle made a play-action fake, then hit Emmanuel Nwosu to make it 43-40. Holle accounted for 79 of the 80 yards on 5-for-9 passing.

"Jacob Ortale and Jason-Matthew Sharsh made some good catches on that last drive but Jon's catch was phenomenal," said Moropoulos. "We were out of timeouts and the clock was running. Cedric didn't score on first down, so we just ran the same play again and he got in.

"Hancock is a very physical team and their running back is a great player."

Cooper threw a 14-yard TD to Sharsh on a halfback option pass, putting the Vaqueros ahead 21-18 with 4:29 to go in the first half.

The Bulldogs (2-4, 0-1) piled up 277 rushing yards on 50 attempts, led by Shaq Autry with 197 yards and two TDs on 26 tries. Hancock's defense held SBCC, which came in as the No. 1 rushing team in the state, to 80 yards on 33 attempts.

After going ahead 43-40, a squib kick went awry for the Vaqueros and Hancock took over on its 45. On third-and-4 from the SBCC 49, Evan Defer smacked quarterback Matt Albright as he threw and the ball fell to the turf to end the game.

Holle completed 22-of-41 passes for a season-high 261 yards and two TDs. Sharsh caught eight passes for 78 yards and TDs of 14 and 7 yards. Elijah Cunningham grabbed six balls for 68 yards.

"We made a few adjustments in the second half and our defense stepped up," said Holle, who guided the Vaqueros' last 3 TD drives of 65, 56 and 80 yards in a combined 5:15. "Our receivers and running backs all made plays when they needed to and our offensive line was great. We really played as a team.

"That's the first successful 2-minute drive I've ever been a part of and it was amazing. That's the best game I've ever played in."

The first quarter was wild with SBCC getting a 57-yard kick return from Cunningham on the opening play. The Vaqueros needed just three plays and 58 seconds to get into the end zone on a 6-yard run by Nwosu. The Vaqueros led 14-12 at the end of 15 minutes thanks to a 95-yard kickoff return by Rhomel Fields. It was the second touchdown in two games for Fields, a defensive back who scored on a pick-6 interception vs. Desert.

The Bulldogs led 26-21 at intermission and scored two touchdowns in a span of 3:10 to take a 40-21 lead on a 54-yard TD run by Autry with 5:59 to go in the third quarter. Santa Barbara bounced back with a six-play, 65-yard drive capped by a 7-yard scoring toss from Holle to Sharsh.

The fourth quarter opened with a leaping 37-yard reception by Cunningham at the Bulldog 8-yard line. Three plays later, Holle tossed an 8-yard TD pass to Nwosu and Patrick Nasiatka's fifth PAT kick pulled the Vaqueros within five at 40-35.

"This was a huge win for our confidence and it's the APL opener," said Moropoulos. "We got great contributions from a lot of players."

Linebackers Dallas Martin and Thomas Lash led the defense with 12 and nine tackles, respectively. They both had five solos.

The Vaqueros will travel to Antelope Valley (4-2, 1-0) on Saturday for an APL game at 7 p.m.