Three second-half touchdowns clinch it for Santa Ynez in Central Section Division V game
After a 3-7 regular season, the Santa Ynez Valley football squad was put in the CIF Central Section Division V playoffs as the ninth seed and had to take a 155-mile trip to the Central Valley and a game against eighth-seeded Arvin on Oct. 8.
And the Pirates were able to make that trip a happy one, rallying to defeat the host Bears 35-21 in the first-round matchup.The victory was the first in the postseason for head coach Josh McClurg, and the first for SYHS since a 28-14 first-round win over Torrance’s North High in 2010, back when the school was still in the CIF Southern Section.
The win also necessitated an even longer road trip as the team traveled to Bishop, 354 miles away, for a game against top-seeded Bishop Union last Friday, Nov. 15.
Against Arvin, who came in at 7-3 and the South Yosemite Horizon League champions, Santa Ynez quarterback Jude Pritchard excelled as a passer and runner: He completed 15 of 18 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns, and led a very balanced Pirates’ rushing game with 49 yards and a score.
The game was nip-and-tuck most of the way, with the Pirates and Bears trading touchdowns on their way to a 21-21 tie into the third quarter, but the SYHS defense stiffened in the last part of the game, and the offense scored twice to put it away.
“That was a great showing; the guys were really locked in as the game went on,” said Pirates head coach Josh McClurg. “I’m always trying to avoid the ‘negative momentum’ from piling up, but we stayed away from that.”
The coach admitted it was potentially tough to take the field after a long bus trip like they did for the game, but he made sure that the players didn’t dwell on that.
“It’s just a matter of putting them in the right mindset,” McClurg said. “I just tell them ‘hey, we know it’s going to be a long ride, but we just have to control what’s controllable.”
The Pirates got off to a great start for the playoff contest as Austin Willis returned the opening kickoff to the Santa Ynez 45-yard line and then six plays later finished the drive with a 12-yard run to put SYHS up 7-0.
The host Bears went on a long 75-yard TD drive to tie it up at 7 at the end of the first quarter, but in the second, the Pirates benefited from a short punt, healthy return and a 15-yard penalty by Arvin to start at the Bears’ 11, and two plays later, Max Andrade caught a 9-yard scoring pass from Pritchard put SYHS ahead.
Arvin came back to score a touchdown on the next drive and the teams would go into halftime knotted up 14-14. Then, on the first play from scrimmage in the second half, the Bears scored on a 71-yard pass play to give them they’re only lead of the night. However, those would be the last points Arvin would score on the night.
On the next Pirates drive, Brendan Foy would finish it with a 15-yard run to tie it up at 21. Then, Andrade made a play on defense, intercepting an Arvin pass and taking it to the Bears’ 21. From there, Pritchard ran it in from 20 yards out to put SYHS back in front for good 28-21.
Arvin threatened to score in the fourth quarter, taking it down to Santa Ynez’s 21-yard line, but the Pirates’ defense stopped the Bears on a 4th-and-1 and a few plays later Pritchard hit Jaxon Glover on a 10-yard pass for last score of the game.
For its second-round matchup in Division 5 last Friday (Nov. 15) the Pirates (4-7, 1-3 in the Sunset League) faced top seed Bishop Union. The Broncos were 10-2 after a 41-6 first-round win over Sanger West and were undefeated at 5-0.
“I’ve seen film of them in about five games this, and they are a really solid team; they have a lot of big guys and are well-coached” McClurg said last week before the matchup. “I won’t be easy, but I like our game plan and I’ll keep telling the players that they’re only three wins away. Three wins!”
The result of the Santa Ynez-Bishop Union came after press time, but can find the results at santaynezvalleystar.com
Feature Image: Santa Ynez High quarterback Jude Pritchard gets ready to take a snap during the Pirates’ Oct. 25 game against Pioneer Valley. Pritchard passed for two touchdowns and ran for a third in the Pirates’ 35-21 win at Arvin in the first-round of the CIF Central Section Division V playoffs. Star File Photo
