Just a few observations about the football scene in the area.
Football
Lompoc vs Templeton
1) I was really impressed by the Eagles.
Was it a rout? Yes it was. Were they over-matched? Undoubtedly. So why was I impressed? Because of the temper and character they displayed. I have seen a lot of routs over the years. Often they become ugly, nasty, brutish things on the field - this one never even hinted it might head in that direction. I did not observe a single cheap shot, or kids (and let's remember that these ARE kids) running their mouths.
They played hard, did not quit, and for a bit in the 2nd actually looked like they might be able to get something going. They worked at getting better the entire game. They have had a rough pre-season slog, but the Northern League competition they will face is not outstanding either. It would not surprise me if they took a few scalps.
2) The Fast Start
The Braves came out FAST - literally running away from the Eagle defenders. This was exemplified by Taua's 1st TD run. Toa is fast, but he is not nearly as fast as, say, Napoleon Kaufman was (is?). He, however, quickly demonstrated that he could motor past anyone on the Templeton side of the ball.
On that run, he broke loose at about the Lompoc 45, and it was immediately apparent that no-one was even going to be able to make up ground on him. Shemar Savage got open on a busted coverage play, but was also much faster than any of his pursuers.
The Braves also had a fast start in the more metaphorical sense. The first six possessions of the game took up 4 minutes and 36 seconds of game time, and difference between the two sides was staggering. Here they are -
L1: Manzo 8y run, Taua 64y TD run, EP
T1: 3 plays - (-7), Punt
L2: Savage 62 y TD pass from Davis,EP
T2: 3 plays - (-1) Punt
L3: Taua 51y TD run, EP
T3: 3 plays - 5 yds, Fumble lost
Lompoc: 4 plays (3 runs), 185 yards, 3TD/EP, 21 points, 1:07 off the clock.
(Taua had 2 totes, 135 yards, 2 TDs)
Templeton: 9 plays (5 runs), -3 yards, 2 Punts, 0 points, 3:29 TOP.
Many folk will dwell on the offensive explosion , which was incredible (i.e. Taua in 10 consecutive carries over 2 games, had 355 yards, 4TDs), but lets talk about the defense a bit.
3) The Braves "D"
First some redonkulous stats -
Lompoc has outscored the opposition 291-24 this season, including 222-0 in the last 4. (GTech/Cumberland anyone?) But those are merely ridiculous, here's the the redonkuli part -
Two of Lompoc's 1st 4 plays (64 yds, 62yds) were each longer than Templeton's total yardage for the game: 60 yards (46 passing, 14 rushing) -According to the SMT's numbers. [My own #'s, which I haven't scrubbed, show even less]
Granted 60+ yard plays are really nice, but not all that rare - but when was the last time you saw a team held to 60 yards total offense? Really think about it! Can you remember any?
Templeton had the ball 12 times: 5 Punts, 2 Interceptions, 1 Fumble, 2 Lost on Downs), 1 Safety, 1 Half Ended.
They ran 50 plays - 31 of them resulted in something bad - 3 turnovers (Fbl, 2 Picks), 16 Negative Yardage (8 runs [3 SACs], 2 snap covers, 3 completed passes) or 12 "Zero Yardage" (5 Runs, 1 completed pass, 6 incompletions). They had 9 plays for 5 yds or more, 2 in the 1st half.
First Downs - they had 5. One at the 10:10 mark of the 2Q, one at 10:16 of the 3Q, 3 on their final possession against the 3rd string.
This defense isn't necessarily real flashy, but the guys are fast, quick, play their assignments well, swarm to the ball, and have multiple people that can rush the passer. Perhaps the most impressive thing is their adaptability.
It's interesting to watch the reaction of opposing coaching staffs when they substitute 4 players to go from a power package to a 4-wide formation - and Lompoc subs no-one, plays their base defense and covers everything.
4) The Lompoc JV won 36-14 Friday afternoon, and the Frosh defeated Santa Maria 54-0 on Thursday.
5) Most Bizarre Play of the Game:
When was the last time you saw a 6 yard Punt Return TD?
Other Considerations
Cabrillo vs Morro Bay
Impressive job by the Conqs administration, coaching staff, and most significantly - the kids, to rebound from a major shock and not just play well, but to beat a much improved Pirate collective.
Arroyo Grande/Paso Robles/Sierra Canyon
The Eagles, who have been somewhat disregarded since losing to the Braves in week 0, have put together a 5 game win streak to equal the record of the Paso Robles Bearcats. Anyone wanna guess who they play next week?
The Bearcats have been at or near the top of many of the local polls, fell way behind, rallied, but came up short against Sierra Canyon on Friday. The Trailblazers figure to be one of the major post-season obstacles for the Braves.
Ventura County
For several years a number of teams to the east of us, have been powers in the SoCal football community, including several that have ended the season for Lompoc.
The 10-team Marmonte added a pair of new teams, and split into thirds - the Marmonte, the Coastal Canyon, and the Camino.
That whole collection, however, seem to have fallen on hard times this year, and even many of the '2nd tier' squads from Santa Barbara, Ventura , and Oxnard have been relegated to lower divisions. Meanwhile, the two teams added as fodder have been doing well.
The formerly woeful Calabasas Coyotes have experienced a resurgence under Head Coach Casey Clausen (ex Alemany, Univ of Tennessee, KC Chiefs, Amsterdam Admiral QB & OC at Oaks Christian). The Oak Park Eagles drafted from the Frontier/TVL appear to be the class of the so-so Canyon.
Usual doormat Dos Pueblos, has the best record in the iffy Channel, Hueneme and Channel Islands after years of stagnation, lead the surprisingly good Pacific View. Bishop Diego and Grace Brethren appear to be holding on to their station, but Carp & Nordhoff have both dropped off the edge, and Santa Paula has a winning record. Strange times indeed.
You may also notice that many of these teams, once bracketed above or with the Braves are now below, some quite a lot below their prior placement. None, however, in Div 4 with Lompoc.
| Team | Div | W | L | Team | Div | W | L | |
| Marmonte | Channel | |||||||
| Oaks Christian (Wstlk) | 2 | 4 | 2 | Buena (Ventura) | 8 | 3 | 3 | |
| Westlake | 2 | 1 | 5 | Dos Pueblos (Goleta) | 10 | 5 | 1 | |
| Camarillo | 2 | 1 | 4 | San Marcos (Goleta) | 12 | 0 | 6 | |
| St. Bonaventure (Vent) | 2 | 4 | 2 | Santa Barbara | 9 | 2 | 4 | |
| Ventura | 5 | 4 | 2 | |||||
| Camino | ||||||||
| Calabasas | 5 | 6 | 0 | |||||
| Newbury Park | 3 | 5 | 1 | |||||
| Thousand Oaks | 3 | 2 | 3 | Pacific View | ||||
| Moorpark | 5 | 4 | 1 | Channel Islands | 11 | 4 | 2 | |
| Hueneme | 13 | 5 | 1 | |||||
| Canyon | Oxnard | 6 | 3 | 3 | ||||
| Royal (Simi Valley) | 7 | 0 | 6 | Pacifica | 7 | 4 | 2 | |
| Simi Valley | 6 | 3 | 3 | Rio Mesa | 8 | 2 | 4 | |
| Oak Park | 11 | 4 | 1 | |||||
| Agoura | 9 | 0 | 6 | |||||
| Frontier | ||||||||
| Tri-Valley | Carpinteria | 12 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| Bishop Diego [SB] | 5 | 4 | 2 | Fillmore | 12 | 1 | 4 | |
| Grace Brethren [Simi] | 8 | 5 | 1 | Malibu | 13 | 1 | 5 | |
| Nordoff | 10 | 2 | 3 | Santa Clara [Oxn.] | 13 | 0 | 3 | |
| Santa Paula | 12 | 3 | 2 |
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