Season Preview: Vaqueros celebrate 60th season

Break out the party hats and noisemakers for the 60^th season of SBCC football.

The Vaqueros have a lot of new faces and there are two lines that will be crucial for success – the offensive line and the line in the turf drawn by the defense.

"We have to play solid defense early and let our young offensive line develop," said Craig Moropoulos, who's starting his eighth season as head coach. "And then there's the quarterback, who has to be able to facilitate the offense."

Moropoulos, a former star QB at Santa Barbara High and SBCC, is celebrating a milestone of his own in his 30^th year of coaching at the Community College, NCAA Div. 1 and High School levels.

The Vaqueros will host San Bernardino Valley in the season opener on Sept. 6 at 4 p.m. in La Playa Stadium. The Wolverines were 8-3 last year and played in a bowl game.

"This schedule is as hard as we've had since I've been here," said Moropoulos. "This is the first time we've played San Bernardino and they're always athletic and very formidable."

The Vaqueros started 6-0 last season and had their best year (7-3) since 1991. Many of the key players from that squad have departed, including quarterback Jarred Evans who's battling for the starting job at Cincinnati, and all-state linebacker Morgan Nevin, the state leader in tackles the last two years.

The 2013 offense averaged 30.1 points and nearly 360 yards. The defense was one of the best in the state for the first six games, holding opponents to 15.7 points a game.

Five starters return on offense, led by linemen Ivan Malinarich and Matt Escobar, and four are back on defense, led by first-team All-American Pacific Conference safety Zach Arnell. Arnell, a 6-3 sophomore from San Diego, was fourth in the APC in tackles (7.4 per game) and had three interceptions.

"Our defense is looking pretty stacked right now," said Arnell. "We have a tougher schedule this year but we've been working really hard and we'll be ready."

Running backs Orion Prescott and Sage Ritchie return along with receivers Tyler Higbee and Royce Finley. Jake Pettit, who was fourth on the team with 55 tackles, is back at inside linebacker and continues the Vaquero tradition of excellent defenders from Truckee, Calif.

The Vaqueros will run their up-tempo, no-huddle offense once again. There are several players vying for the starting quarterback job with Nolan Tisdale, a sophomore from Bishop Diego High, and freshman Brandon Edwards from Seattle leading the pack.

"Replacing Jarred won't be easy," said Moropoulos, who's the offensive coordinator. "He made so many things happen. We're focusing on trying to get the best distributor and utilize the athleticism around him. We have more speed outside than we've had in a while."

Moropoulos is excited about tight end Will Allen, a 6-4, 230-pounder from Phoenix. "We haven't had a great tight end in a few years but we have one this year in Will. He's extremely athletic, so he can play out in flex and he can attach to the tackle, which will help the offensive line."

Emilio Gonzalez, a 6-5 sophomore from Santa Barbara High, is another option at tight end. He's among a talented group of newcomers on offense that includes Edwards and running backs Cedric Cooper and Yusupha Foster.

Top new players on defense include cornerback Detavius Long and linebacker James Benedix, a transfer from NCAA Div. 2 Malone University in Canton, Ohio.

The Vaqueros have a strong local corps with Gonzalez, running back Cheroke Cunningham and linebacker/long snapper Jason Jimenez  from Santa Barbara High; defensive lineman Parker Rozenberg of San Marcos; wide receiver Robert Gulvin of Dos Pueblos, plus Tisdale and All-CIF receiver Sam Kwock from Bishop Diego.

The kicking game will be solid again with the addition of two Australians – sophomore punter Mitch Wishnowsky and kicker Owen Hoolihan. They're friends of Tim Gleeson, SBCC's all-state punter from last year who's now at Rutgers.

"Mitch is 6-4 and 225 and one of the strongest guys on the team," Moropoulos stated. "He has an extremely strong punting leg. Owen is also strong and a very accurate kicker."

Blake Levin is another kicker who, like Gleeson, transferred to SBCC from the University of Wyoming.

Moropoulos says it will be important to minimize mistakes on offense.

"Anytime you run a fast-paced offense with lots of things happening, you run the risk of turnovers," he noted. "We have to play aggressive defense and really shine so a young offense can develop confidence."

The Vaqueros were No. 2 in the AFC in red zone offense last year, scoring on 78 percent of their possessions and ranking first in touchdowns at 65 percent (26-of-40). They scored 42 or more four times with a season high of 49 in the season finale, a wild 49-38 win at West L.A.

"We scored a lot of points last year and we want to be even better in the red zone," said Moropoulos. "We have to reduce penalties and turnovers. We don't want to settle for field goals."

All home games will be live-streamed on the Internet with John Martony calling the action. Here's the address: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/sbcc/. Martony will also broadcast all 10 games on the radio (KZSB AM 1290) and on the Internet at www.newspress.com.