Santa Maria rebounds, beats Cabrillo 35-7

Lompoc Record, Calif.
·2 min read

Sep. 18—A trip to Huyck Stadium can bring two very different feelings depending on who's hosting the game.

When Lompoc High is the awaiting opponent, teams typically dread the trip to Lompoc.

When Cabrillo is hosting, though, it's given most teams an opportunity to get right.

Santa Maria got right Friday.

The Saints traveled to Huyck Stadium to face the Cabrillo Conquistadores, hoping to end their two-game losing streak.

Santa Maria did just that, cruising past Cabrillo 35-7 to improve to 2-2 on the season. Cabrillo is 0-5 and has now lost 32 straight games.

Cabrillo last won a football game on Sept. 29, 2017, a 47-42 win over Morro Bay when AJ Pateras was the team's head coach. Since then, Cabrillo has played 32 games and lost each time. Friday's loss means the streak will reach four whole years as Cabrillo will next play on Oct. 1 in a home game against Santa Ynez.

That will be the start of Pacific View League play for the Conquistadores who've been out-scored 236-13 this year.

Santa Maria evened its record Friday, jumping out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter before out-scoring Cabrillo 21-0 in the second. The Conqs scored on a short touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

The Saints have been mostly competitive in coach Albert Mendoza's first season. They started the year with a 3-0 home win over East Bakersfield and narrowly fell to San Marcos 13-6 in another home game in the second week of the season.

Santa Maria then had a bye before being routed 48-7 by Santa Ynez last week. That result does not bode well for Cabrillo. The Conqs are off next week before starting Pacific View League play against those very Pirates.

Santa Maria also has a big test on the horizon: The Saints travel to Pioneer Valley to face the Panthers in a non-league game this Friday. That rivalry contest will likely be the biggest of the year for each team. Pioneer Valley is 0-3, though all of those loses have been by one score.

The Panthers started the year with a 6-0 loss to San Luis Obispo. They then lost at home to unbeaten Nipomo (4-0) 26-20 before falling at Templeton 7-0 last week. Pioneer Valley didn't play this week.

Cabrillo is 1-39 in its last 40 games and is 15-75 since its magical 2011 season where the Conqs played rival Lompoc for the CIF Southern Section Northwest Division title. Cabrillo went 11-3 that year.