Santa Barbara Dons Show Off Explosive Offense in 42-17 Win over Camarillo

Santa Barbara High School football opened up the 2024 football season with a bang, with junior quarterback Laird Finkel tossing four touchdown passes in a 42-17 rout over the Camarillo Scorpions at Peabody Stadium on Friday night.

The Dons’ first game of the year featured five different players who scored touchdowns, two forced interceptions, and a 70-plus-yard highlight from one of last year’s most explosive players, Kai Mault.

After forcing a quick three-and-out on the first Camarillo possession of the game, Santa Barbara got its first drive off to a good start with some offensive fireworks. On the fifth play, Finkel hit Mason Morales on a wheel route down the right sideline for 25 yards, setting up the Dons with a first and goal at the Camarillo 10 yard line. Three plays later, Finkel connected with Morales again, this time for a four-yard score to give the Dons their first touchdown of the year and a 7-0 lead. 

The methodical, eight-play drive set the tone for Santa Barbara, and the Dons’ swarming defense quickly got the ball back again after forcing a punt on Camarillo’s second drive of the game.

On the Dons’ second offensive drive, it only took Finkel three plays to find his speedy senior wide receiver Mault, who caught a quick screen, found some open space, and took off untouched for a 72-yard touchdown to extend the Dons’ lead to 14-0. 

“We started out with a bang,” said Santa Barbara head coach Nate Mendoza. “Scored the first two drives and got two stops to start the game. The offense looks pretty athletic today.”

Camarillo had a tough time finding an offensive flow in the first quarter, but after the teams traded a few punts, the Scorpions took advantage of some great field position midway through the second quarter. Camarillo got the ball on the Santa Barbara 31 yard line, and after a defensive pass interference set the Scorpions up inside the Dons’ 15, Camarillo’s bruising running back Shane Feller barreled his way into the end zone on a 13-yard run to bring the score to 14-7.

Throughout the game, Santa Barbara leaned not only on the calm pocket presence of Finkel, but the workhorse running of senior Bode Fauskee, who on the next drive broke free on a 47-yard scamper, followed by two more strong carries to set the Dons up inside the Camarillo red zone. Finkel then found his new offensive weapon, senior Carter Debusk, wide open in the end zone for his third touchdown pass of the night, giving the Dons a two-score lead 21-7.

“Carter Debusk and Mason Morales made some excellent plays,” Mendoza said. “It’s really nice to see those complimentary players on offense.”

Two plays later, the Santa Barbara defense got its first defensive takeaway of the season with an interception by junior linebacker Jacob Hurtado to set up the Dons deep in Camarillo territory. After senior wide receiver Tomás Gil snuck through the defense to give Santa Barbara a first and goal, Finkel capped off the drive with a floating pass to Mault in the back of the end zone — Finkel’s fourth touchdown pass — to give the Dons a 28-7 lead with just over three minutes left in the half.

Before the end of the half, Camarillo would gain a spark with a tipped interception from junior defensive back Jayce Ward, setting up a Scorpion field goal as the clock expired to send the teams into the break at 28-10.

In the second half, Santa Barbara’s offense got right back into rhythm with a healthy dose of Fauskee carries and two big catches by Morales, who snagged a deep ball inside the Camarillo six-yard line and set up another Dons first and goal. On the next play, Fauskee finished the drive with a six-yard score, extending the lead to 35-10.

Camarillo started to build momentum in the third quarter with a long 15-play drive, featuring a few big first down runs by their big running back, Feller, who finished it off with a one-yard dive to bring the score to 35-17.

The Scorpions defense stepped up to end of the third quarter, and just as it seemed that Camarillo would get the ball back after forcing a fourth and long, Santa Barbara’s punter Thiago Valerio — who the coaches nicknamed “Turbo” — surprised the entire stadium by taking off on a 31-yard fake punt run to squash any chance of a Scorpion comeback.

“He has a green light when something is there, and he took it,” coach Mendoza said about the unplanned fake punt. “I was a little surprised, we had to hold our breath a little bit.”

In the fourth quarter the Dons relied on giving the ball to junior running back Zane Webb, in one drive feeding him four times in a row before he bullied his way in for a two-yard score to extend the lead to 42-17 with just over seven minutes left in the game. Webb would get the ball several more times on the Dons’ final drives, running out the remainder of the clock to seal the season-opening win.

Finkel, who had transferred away from Santa Barbara to play his sophomore season at Alemany, said he was proud to be back playing for his hometown team at Peabody Stadium for his junior season.

“I love being back home, being with my friends, and it felt great to get a first win,” Finkel said.

Next week, Santa Barbara will take its 1-0 record on the road to play against the Valencia Vikings (0-1), who lost in a high-scoring shootout on Friday against Simi Valley, 41-49.