Santa Barbara High Football Raises the Bar With 47-23 Victory over Valencia

Perennial powerhouse Valencia was the only team that handed the Santa Barbara High football team a lopsided loss last season.

Revenge can be an excellent motivational tool and the Dons made the most of it on their way to a 47-23 road win on Friday night. It was a signature early-season victory for a program on the rise.

“The first quarter was slow; it felt like they had all of the momentum,” said Santa Barbara High coach Nate Mendoza. “Guys trusted in what they do. We finished the first half really strong, grabbed the momentum and we continued to hold it the rest of the game.”

Valencia got off to a fast start behind explosive junior running back Brian Bonner. He ripped off an eleven-yard touchdown run that put the Vikings ahead 10-0 with 11:09 remaining in the second quarter.

Bonner is a four-star recruit with offers from Georgia, Oregon and USC among many others. The Dons limited him to 21 yards on his first eight carries, but he began to pick up steam on Valencia’s second drive of the game and finished with 175 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns.

Santa Barbara bounced back on its second possession of the game marching 75 yards on nine plays culminating in a 12-yard touchdown run by junior Monty Lopez, which cut the Santa Barbara deficit to 10-7.

However, Bonner broke free for a 62-yard run before being tripped up by Kai Mault at the two-yard line. On the next play, Valencia quarterback Brady Bretthauer powered into the end zone, increasing the Vikings lead to 17-7 with five minutes remaining in the second quarter.

The deficit did not faze Santa Barbara as running back Bode Fauskee began to gain traction late in the second quarter. He scampered for runs of 31 and eleven yards before finishing off the drive  with a three-yard touchdown run that cut the Dons’ deficit to 17-13 with 3:45 remaining in the first half.

Thiago Valerio tacked on a short field goal for Santa Barbara as the first half clock expired that cut the Valencia lead to 17-16.

After a Santa Barbara punt to begin the second half, Fauskee made his presence felt on defense with a fumble recovery that he returned 15-yards for a touchdown. The defensive touchdown gave the Dons a 23-17 lead

“Carter Hubbard caused the fumble when the quarterback rolled out,” Fauskee said. “I just scooped and scored.”

The Dons rushing attack continued to churn in the second half. Fauskee finished with 125 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns on the ground. 

Valerio added another field foal for Santa Barbara that increased the lead to 26-17, but Valencia immediately responded with a six-play, 80-yard drive that Bonner capped off with a four-yard touchdown run that brought the Vikings deficit to 26-23. 

On the ensuing Santa Barbara possession, Bode Fauskee exploded for a 19-yard touchdown run with 9:17 remaining in the game. The drive was aided by an illegal substitution penalty by Valencia on fourth down.

Kai Mault recovered a fumble on the next Valencia possession and Santa Barbara took advantage of the turnover with a 40-yard touchdown pass from Laird Finkel to Carter Debusk. The deep ball served as a dagger as it extended the Santa Barbara lead to 40-23 with 5:48 remaining. 

The Dons closed the scoring on a 65-yard touchdown pass from Finkel to Mault with 4:56 remaining in the fourth quarter. Finkel completed 17-of-27 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns. 

Lopez shined on defense for Santa Barbara with two interceptions along with the entire defensive line

With the victory Santa Barbara improves to 2-0 and will host rival Dos Pueblos next week.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 35; Bishop Diego, 34

The Cardinals fought valiantly, but suffered a heartbreaking defeat. the Irish scored with 33 seconds remaining on a quarterback keeper. After falling behind 13-0 in the first quarter, Bishop Diego led for most of the second half, but could no secure the victory against a quality opponent.

Royal, 20; Dos Pueblos, 13

The Chargers showed improvement from week zero, but could not capture the victory.