Boys defeat Templeton at home, girls win big at Cabrillo
After a month of non-league opponents and preseason tournaments the Santa Ynez High boys and girls basketball teams began Sunset League play at the start of the new year. And both posted their first league wins in convincing fashion on Friday, Jan. 16.
Boys defeat visiting Templeton
The Pirates boys squad finished with a 9-9 record in the preseason before falling to Righetti in its league opener to assure they would not go 8-0 like they did last year. On Jan. 16, they defeated visiting Templeton 57-43 to assure they won’t finish 0-8 in league like they did two years ago.
Jude Pritchard, who has a team-high 15.7 points per game so far this year, and Wesley Satterthwaite had 14 points to lead the Pirates. Gael Villalobos had 12 points and 7 rebounds. Satterthwaite also had 7 boards.
“They played us close for three quarters. Their 3-2 zone defense was tough to penetrate,” SYHS head coach Rod Caughell said after the game. “Fortunately, we shot very well from the outside, which can be a weakness with the 3-2, and we were able to open it up in the fourth quarter.”
Caughell also had praise for the Pirates defense.
“We played great defense,” he said. “Templeton’s a great three-point shooting team, but our guys kept their hands in the face. We broke away in the fourth, with some turnovers and they missed some foul shots.”
The Templeton win followed a Jan. 13 loss to Righetti by the score of 70-57. Pritchard led the way for the Pirates with 18 points, while Mason Skidmore scored 12 points and Lucas Ollenburger added 11.
The loss and win over Templeton, showed how erratic the team could be, according to Caughell.
“We’re just a Jeckyll-and-Hyde team,” he said. “Sometimes we don’t show up with the necessary energy to win, and other times we can’t be beat with our level of intensity.”
Caughell believes that his team will do well if they can keep up the energy it had against Templeton.
“We got about four guys who can score in double digits easily,” the coach said, identifying Pritchard and Ollenburger as the go-to guys on the team. “Like I said, if we keep the level of intensity for every game, we’re in good shape.”
The Pirates 1-1 in league and 10-10 overall, traveled to Paso Robles on Tuesday, Jan. 20, and will go to Lompoc on Friday, Jan. 23, before returning home for a non-league game against Carpinteria on Jan. 27.
Girls squad romps at Cabrillo for first league win
In a game against a winless opponent, things turned out as expected for the Pirates girls basketball team as it won easily in the Conquistadores gym 69-32.
Lexi Molera was top scorer for the Pirates with 18 points on six 3-pointers, while Helina Pecile had 12 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 steals, and Rylan Agin (12 points, 8 rebounds) and Jazmine Juarez (10 points) also shined.
That first league win followed two losses, to Morro Bay (45-42) and Righetti (65-39).
“It’s a tougher league this year, and we have to contend with Morro Bay and Righetti, so that’s tough,” SYHS head coach Jennifer Rasmussen said. “However, I just want to get this team ready for the postseason, and I think if we can get the playoff berth, we can get a run like last year.”
The Pirates last year made it all the way to CIF Section Finals before losing, but then got a state-playoff berth and won a game before being eliminated. So far this year, SYHS stands at 9-6 with a 1-2 Sunset League record.
The girls team returned home on Tuesday, Jan. 20, against Atascadero, and will play Lompoc at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 23 (tonight).
Pirates soccer scores season high in win over Dunn
The SYHS boys soccer team had it highest scoring output on the season on Saturday, Jan. 17, in a 5-0 win over Dunn in Los Olivos
Hector Gonzalez, Osvaldo Muro, Vince Guerrero, Danny Garcia, and Yahir Torres scored the goals for SYHS, while Luis Garcia (2), Walker Sweetland, Marcos Rivera and Mario Zepeda got assists.
“As the season comes to an end, the team is getting stronger and ready to compete for a spot into the playoffs,” said Rivera.
Head coach Hector Garcia’s team, with a record of 5-3-3 (1-1-2 in the Sunset League) played at Atascadero on Tuesday, Jan. 20, and will travel to Nipomo on Friday, Jan. 23.
Girls soccer shuts out Cabrillo
The SYHS girls soccer team stayed undefeated in the Ocean League with a 3-0 win over the Cabrillo Conquistadores on Jan. 9.
Hannah Ricci, Isabella Rubio, and Mia Pulido scored second-half goals to lead the Pirates to victory.
After taking last week off, the Pirates played Mission Prep on Tuesday and will play Nipomo at home Friday, Jan. 23
