Vaqueros rush past Compton in opener, 45-0

SBCC rushed for 197 yards and five touchdowns on Saturday night in a 45-0 season-opening shutout of Compton at Tartar Stadium. It was the second straight shutout for the Vaqueros, who blanked L.A. Valley 14-0 in last year's finale.

Compton turned the ball over five times in the first half (three fumbles, two interceptions) and the Vaqueros scored 31 points on those turnovers. They started four of their five scoring drives inside the 13-yard line (13, 3, 10 and 12-yard lines).

Will Bayonne ran 14 times for 73 yards and two TDs as the Vaqueros built a 33-0 halftime lead. The third and fourth quarters were shortened to 10-minute periods.

"Our offensive line played very well," said sophomore quarterback Gerald Hickson, who was 4-8 passing for 49 yards and a touchdown in his 1½ quarters of playing time. "They were on the Compton side on nearly every play. We have great depth at running back and three guys had great nights."

Bayonne, a 5-9, 215-pounder from West Palm Beach, Fla., led the runners with 91 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. Ashkan Allen, a sophomore from San Marcos High, picked up 79 yards on 14 tries, including touchdown runs of 8 and 28 yards in the fourth quarter.

Clifton Taylor, a freshman from Chicago, added 66 yards and a TD on 12 attempts.

The Vaqueros have a superior offense line with Ramon Lazarit and Nathan Beveridge at the tackles, Sage Sobrado and Taylor Ludwig at guards and Jake Tourtillotte at center.

Daniel Ekstrum forced Tartar quarterback Mustafa Muhammad to fumble on Compton's first possession and Chase Elliott recovered at the Tartar 13. Bayonne ran for 9 and 4 yards, making it 7-0.

Compton turned it over on the very next play with a mishandled handoff that Jordan Francis pounced on at the 3. Taylor took a pitch to the right and ran over a defender at the 1 on a 3-yard TD burst. Martin Ahlstroem booted the PAT for a 14-0 lead with 5:53 to go in the first quarter.

The Vaqueros held the Tartars to minus 41 rushing yards, thanks to five sacks. SBCC dominated in first downs (20-2) and total yards (266-58).

"It's a win and we're always grateful for wins," said SBCC coach Craig Moropoulos. "There's still plenty to work on. There were plenty of good things on offense, defense and the kicking game but there's a lot of things we still have to shore up.

"We were a little bit conservative today and didn't try to run the score up. We ran the ball well and threw when we needed to."

Compton committed 14 penalties for 97 yards and the Vaqueros had just three for 15 yards.

Ekstrum played well on the defensive line and Cory Margo had two of his team's five sacks. Nakota Shepard-Creer made a leaping interception of a long pass at his own 45 late in the first quarter. The Vaqueros put together a 10-play, 55-yard march that culminated in a 17-yard lob pass from Hickson to tight end Tommy Quinn and stretched the lead to 21-0.

Three plays later, the Tartars made a bad snap from their 23 and SBCC's Mark Herrera recovered at the 10-yard line. After a penalty moved the ball to the 5, Bayonne scooted in for his second TD and a 28-0 advantage with 10:08 to go in the first half.

Two plays later, Patrick Dill intercepted an ill-advised flip pass by Julius Jones, who was trying to avoid a sack. The Vaqueros took over on the Compton 12 and four plays later, Ahlstroem kicked a 20-yard field goal. SBCC got a safety and a 33-0 lead when Jones lost his balance and touched the ball to the ground in the end zone.

Compton scored a touchdown on the first play of the third quarter but it was erased by a penalty. Terry Brady beat his defender and caught a Muhammad pass at the Vaquero 45, then cruised into the end zone for an apparent 74-yard score. Several Tartar subs ran onto the field during the play, however, and they were hit with a sideline interference penalty for 15 yards. That moved the ball back to the SBCC 44 and Compton got down to the 20, where a field-goal attempt went straight into the linemen.

Allen's last TD capped a 72-yard, 11-play drive. Taylor ran six times for 30 yards. On first and 10 from the 28, Allen broke free up the left side, bounced off a few tacklers and made a spin move at the 5 on his way to the Vaqueros' sixth touchdown with 48.9 seconds to play.

Santa Barbara will host San Bernardino Valley in its home opener on Saturday at 6 p.m. The Wolverines outlasted Santa Ana 41-38 in their opener.