In the home opener on Aug. 30, the El Camino College Warriors seized their first win of the season against the visiting Santa Barbara City College Vaqueros at Murdock Stadium in a 68-6 win.
Both teams were fired up to start the game with their warmups, all you can see is handshakes and chest bumps while bobbing their heads to the music.
On the first drive of the game, in the first quarter, the Warriors came out with a high octane offense and a fast tempo pushing the ball down the field.
Warriors running back Jaden Moore was a big part of the offense making a 45-yard catch and rushing in a 8-yard touchdown.
Warriors coach Gifford Lindheim spoke about playing solid football and taking care of the ball.
“We had a really good training camp. We’ve got a bunch of talent,” Lindheim said. “The strategy was to play football and to stick to the plan that we had.”
The talent came on both sides of the field for the Warriors, making huge plays giving the team momentum and energy.
In his first game as a Warrior, quarterback Andrew Maushardt threw for 232 yards on the day and completed 16 passes out of 23 on the night with two touchdowns.
Maushardt was thrilled about getting the win and talked about his mindset coming in and moving forward.
“I just want to be bought into this team. I know this is a new team for me,” said Maushardt. “When I’m out on the field I know bad plays happen, but every play has a life of its own. I just move on from it.”
Other Warriors contributed and made key plays to give them more of a cushion.
Warriors quarterback Evan Thomich threw a deep bomb to wide receiver Cameron Brewer down the sideline in the second quarter. Brewer ran looking back, diving for the touchdown, giving the Warriors a 20-0 lead.
The Vaqueros had a tough night on both sides of the field.
At the end of the third quarter, an offensive lineman for the Vaqueros went down with an injury. Both teams came down on a knee hoping he will be okay and trainers rushed out to check him. He was lifted off the field and the injury wasn’t revealed.
Vaqueros quarterback Cole Leukinga started the game, but was subbed out after throwing six completions out of nine passes thrown and an interception.
Vaqueros quarterback Jackson McPeak took a lot of bumps and hits in the pocket, facing constant pressure from the Warriors pass-rush defense scrambling left and right trying to keep the play alive for the offense.
Vaqueros coach Craig Moropoulos talked about the youth of his team.
“We have a young team and we’re going to make mistakes. This El Camino team is a good program and we can’t give up on our team. We have to keep building,” Moropoulos said.
At the start of the second half, the Warriors scored two touchdowns back-to-back to keep the fast-paced, tempo offense going.
Warriors running back Ryan Young scored on an 8-yard rushing touchdown diving in the end zone and wide receiver Mark Baker caught a 20-yard pass jumping in the air, extending his arms to give the Warriors a 47-0 lead.
Both running backs Young and Moore finished with two touchdowns each for the Warriors.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Warriors running back Azeon Nelson ran the ball down the sideline and trucked Vaqueros defensive back Tamarion Bickham, sending him flipping away.
The crowd and the Warrior sideline erupted in oohs and aahs and were jumping up and down after the big play by Nelson.
Lindheim spoke about the upcoming game and what to expect from their next opponent.
“[College of the] Canyons is a physical team and we will be tested next week. We have to watch film and see where we can get better at things,” Lindheim said.
The Warriors move to (1-0) on the season and the Vaqueros move to (0-1), El Camino will face the College of the Canyons Cougars (0-1) on Saturday, Sept. 6, at 6 p.m. in Murdock Stadium.
Editor’s note:
- Captions were updated and links were added Saturday, Oct. 25.
