The Corsairs Go Downhill
Coming off a loss at home to the Palomar Comets last week, Santa Monica College's own Corsairs took on the Mt. San Antonio College Mounties, at The Corsair Field on Saturday September 16, 2017 in Santa Monica, California. The struggles from last week's game continued into this one, as the Mt. SAC Mounties jumped out to an early 21-0 first quarter lead, thanks to a one-yard run by Jamario Elliot, a Jaiave Magalei 10-yard pass to Cameron Coleman, and a 12-yard run by Asfunso Elam.
The Corsairs' defense made some improvements in the second half forcing the Mounties' offense to two three and outs, and three key turnovers. However, the offense was unable to capitalize on any of these opportunities. On two separate occasions SMC was deep in enemy territory, but a missed field goal from kicker Vitor Sambugaro, along with a missed fourth and goal took any sort of momentum away from the Corsairs. The Mounties added another score on the board from a 20-yard touchdown run from Canaan Chandler to make it 28-0 with under a minute to go in the first half. The Corsairs had multiple chances to score in the first half, but were simply unable to execute.
The game proved to be out of reach for the Corsairs once the Mounties added another touchdown in the third quarter. A Richard Stammetti 16-yard pass to Austin Griffin made it 35-0 Mt. Sac. The Mounties' Chandler sealed the game on a 3-yard touchdown run to make it 41-0. The Corsairs would avoid being shut out once again, with less than nine minutes to go in the fourth quarter, quarterback Nick Hutchins connected with Jordan Herrera from 30 yards out. Santa Monica's kicker Sambugaro, missed the extra point and the game ended with a 41-6 final.
With the Corsairs losing back to back games to start the season and falling to 1-2, Corsairs head coach, Bill Laslett, said, "yeah we're disappointed, you know you always prepare to win. But that was a good football team we played, but we did a lot of things on our end not to help ourselves."
Mt. SAC's quarterback John Martinos completed 10 passes out of 32 attempts and had 75 passing yards. While SMC's Hutchins went 2 for 7 with 61 passing yards and a touchdown. He also added 44 yards on nine rushing attempts. Santa Monica's wide receivers Jordan Herrera caught two balls for 35 yards and a touchdown, while Rick Hambright caught 3 passes for 39 yards.
On defense, the Corsairs' were led by linebacker Chris Wein who accumulated an ourageous 21 total tackles, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Defensive backs Tyree Fryar had two pass breakups, and Chimechi Oparanozie had an impressive interception that was returned for 42-yards. Bryce Harvey reeled in a sack, while Iuta Mailoto and Richard Harbor III each had half a sack.
When asked about his team's expectations and having a record of 1-2, Laslett reponded, "Well, we're not excited about being 1-2, and you know we're in a situation right now. We're playing Orange Coast and we're looking to even things up."
The Corsairs will try to find a way out of this slump, but coach Laslett remained upbeat and said, "We got next week and we don't think about what's behind us or what's beyond that... We're still trying to find our identity on offense, so we saw some things today, but maybe a little bit too late, but it's gonna help us throughout the season."
Santa Monica takes on the Orange Coast College Pirates at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday September 23rd, at Dick Tucker Field in Orange County, California.