Wet, Yet Satisfied and Victorious

These two young ladies enjoyed the game at Huyck - but mostly they enjoyed sharing Lompoc Defensive Co-ordinator (and Ex Cabrillo Head Coach) Don Cross' hot chocolate as he sat and talked with current Cabrillo Head Coach Craig Knowles.



Football

Cabrillo JV 14 Lompoc JV 13

A wet, but satisfied Bob Radford stood on the field at Huyck Stadium taking it all in for the last time. The long-time Cabrillo coach had just watched his JV squad emerge victorious from the "Little Big Game" with a 14-13 win over the Lompoc Braves. He had announced to the team before the the game that his return to the coaching ranks from retirement had come to an end.

His last team had shown typical Radford traits - they got better and they kept trying. After a 1-4 start to the season, with no loss by more than 9 points, they rebounded to finish the year with five straight wins. They also kept trying Thursday night - an initial attempt to douse the coach was avoided, but a second succeeded. Radford said " I was expecting the first one, but not the second".

There wasn't much that the coach hadn't anticipated. During the week he told his players "Lompoc is like a hurricane. Big and powerful, but you know where its headed. We're like a tornado - unpredictable." and as the bus arrived Thursday night reminded them - "The Tornado is Coming". The result was a swarming Conquistador defense that mostly held a potent Lompoc attack in check.

Cabrillo struck first with a 10-play 44 yard drive that was capped by a 13 yard Twenty Vasquez TD run at 3:40 in the first quarter. Vasquez, who was a stalwart player on both sides of the ball, also kicked the extra points.

Lompoc responded almost immediately. On the ensuing possession, QB Evan Aguilar hit a wide open Lavon Haynes for a 78 yard scoring pass, and Parick Hill's PAT tied it up with 2:44 to go in the initial period.

Neither side was able to score again for quite a while. The Braves came the closest in the first half, picking up a first down at the Cabrillo 7 yard line with 31 seconds left. But they couldn't punch it in. The Conqs would finally break the logjam with a drive that began late in the third stanza. A nice 16 yard punt return by Amari Dixon set them up on the Lompoc 46 yard line. Four plays and a personal foul penalty gave them a first down at the 15, and four plays after that Dixon finished things off with a 2 yard TD run on first & goal. Vasquez hit the PAT for a 14-7 lead.

The Braves were unable to move the ball their next time out and punted. Cabrillo took over with just over 7 minutes left in the game, but couldn't pick up a first down and prepared to kick the ball back to Lompoc. It was not to be. Rookie punter Sal Esparza, who had been great on three previous attempts, couldn't corral a wayward snap that the Braves Abie Luna scooped up and returned to the Cabrillo 28 yard line.

Four plays later, Evan Aguilar scored on a 10 yard QB draw. The Braves eschewed the extra point to tie it, however, and chose to go for two points and the win. The conversion failed as Aguilar was swarmed under by fierce pressure from Matt Giles, who along with Jesus Medrano - his partner on the right side of the defensive line, took over late in the game. But Lompoc was not done. Patrick Hill struck a beautiful onside kick that was recovered by Levi Chagoya, and the Braves were in business just inside the 50.

After an incomplete pass, and two Aguilar scrambles for 7 yards, Aguilar was sacked on fourth down by Nolan Williams and Daniel Cousins. It was typical of Williams play on the night. He had had a bunch of tackles defensively, and also gained important tough yards running the ball. The Cabrillo QB, injury fill-in starter Austin Camblin, took a knee twice in the 'victory ' formation to run out the clock.

The ending was fitting for Radford, who lost the game last year 20-19, after a failed two-point conversion. The coach first came to Cabrillo in 1965 as an assistant to Everett Jones, who was his roommate at the University of Utah where they were both on the football team. He began coaching in Texas in 1958, and later coached in Utah at a rival HS to Jones, whom he drove to Lompoc for his interview.

He spent the rest of his career at Cabrillo, including winning 38 games as the Varsity Head Coach, before retiring from coaching. Thirteen years later, in the mid 90's, he also retired as a teacher at the school. Lured back to the coaching ranks in 2001, he was a player or coach in seven different decades. A consummate professional, who was always prepared, he is also a true gentleman and will no doubt be missed up on the hill.

Cabrillo Frosh 28 Lompoc Frosh 9

Cabrillo used big plays by R.J. Florez (16 yard TD reception from Sam Beltran, 66 yard TD run) and Isaiah Montez (a 95 yard punt return TD) with constant hammering , and a TD, by FB/LB T.J.Babauta to pound the Braves into submission. Babauta also had two interceptions in the end zone. The sole Lompoc TD was scored on a 23 yard Keldon Marmolejo interception return. Steven Pico booted a 35 yard Field Goal for the Braves.

CIF Results
Pretty good day for teams from Santa Barbara and SLO Counties.

Boys Water Polo
Webb 14, Santa Ynez 5
Arroyo Grande 13, Redondo 5
Palos Verdes 16, SLO 5
Righetti 7, Thousand Oaks 6
Santa Barbara 14 Huntington Beach 3
Dos Pueblos 7 Harvard-Westlake 6


Girls Volleyball

Santa Ynez def. Palm Desert 3-2 [Wild one]
(25-20, 25-13, 20-25, 25-27, 15-9)
Quartz Hill def. St. Joseph (SM)

3-0(25-10, 25-21, 25-15)


Other
Dos Pueblos def. West Ranch 3-0
(25-18, 25-20, 25-18)
Arroyo Grande def. El Toro 3-2 [Barn-burner]
(25-13, 21-25, 19-25, 28-26, 15-9)
Santa Barbara def. Estancia 3-0
(25-10, 25-19, 25-14)
Dunn def. Mary Star of the Sea 3-1
(21-25, 25-16, 25-15, 25-17)

Laguna Blanca def. Windward Academy 3-0

(25-14, 25-19, 25-18)
Coastal Christian (AG) def. Victor Vlly. Chr. 3-1
(25-23, 25-13, 20-25, 25-21)

Girls Tennis

LPL

North Torrance 11, Cabrillo [11-6] 7
Doubles teams Brissa Montes / Jessica Montes and Lanae Magers / Katy Carlson each won two points, but it wasn't enough. The Saxons took seven singles points- six by #1 Bea Palillo (lost one game) and #2 Ellie Fukunaga (lost two games).
Santa Ynez 13, Arroyo Valley 5
Cerritos 16, Templeton 2
St. Joseph (SM) 15, St. Joseph (Lkwd) 3

Other
Rowland 11, Cate 7
Santa Barbara 14, Burbank 4
Mayfield 9 (75), San Marcos 9 (67)
Dos Pueblos 9, (86) Esperanza 9 (66)
San Luis Obispo 14, Hart 4
Oaks Christian 9 (72), Arroyo Grande 9 (67)

Crossroads 15, Bishop Diego 3

Girls Golf
The CIF Southern Section girls golf Team Championships were held on Thursday at the Cypress Ridge Golf Course in Arroyo Grande. The top four teams advance to the WSCGA Tournament (the De Facto state Championship) on Monday, 17 Nov. 2008, at Canyon Crest Country Club. The only area school still competing was the squad from Dos Pueblos - they finished 13th with a 462 score.

The CIF-Southern Section Northern Team Divisional was held on Monday, 10 Nov 2008, at the par 72 River Ridge GC (Oxnard). Each one of four Divisionals advanced four teams to the finals in Arroyo Grande.

Team scores
Hart 410, Dos Pueblos 426, Diamond Bar 434, Westlake 437, Righetti 441, Santa Ynez 447, Saugus 458, West Ranch 469, Royal 479, Oaks Christian 489, Arroyo Grande 487, La Reina 493, Santa Barbara 495, Camarillo 498, Harvard-Westlake 504, Norhoff 515, Oxnard 520, Notre Dame 526.

--el stato