November 6, 2021
Corsair Football Holds Off Feisty L.A. Valley for 1st Conference Win
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Coming up devastatingly short in each of their last two losses, the third time was a charm for the Santa Monica College football team, as the host Corsairs turned to their rushing attack and critical defensive plays to fend off a nail-biting rally by visiting Los Angeles Valley College for a 31-28 win.
Santa Monica (3-4, 1-2 conference) endured an unorthodox start by the Monarch offense, which spent the scoreless first quarter pounding the football. L.A. Valley (2-7, 1-3 conference) did not attempt a pass until the second quarter, leading to an aerial assault ending with a six-yard touchdown pass for the game's first points. The Corsair offense struggled early behind consecutive red-zone interceptions by freshman quarterback Sam Vaulton. With the passing game compromised, Santa Monica turned to the ground game to get the offense moving. Spearheaded by a 40-yard scamper by RB Hassan Biggus and a 17-yard catch-and-run by freshman RB Josiah Neos, Santa Monica evened the score with a four-yard punch up the middle by Neos.
The Corsair defense, stymied by the run-pass duality of the Monarchs for the majority of the game, seized momentum toward the end of the first half, as freshman DE Tannen Vagle strip-sacked L.A. Valley – recovered by freshman LB Maximillian Palees – on a fourth-down gamble deep into Monarch territory on what seemed like the last play of the half, until a personal foul penalty on L.A. Valley at the end of Palees' fumble return allowed for one free Santa Monica play. The Corsairs took full advantage with a 24-yard field goal by freshman kicker Tommy Meek to give Santa Monica a 10-7 edge at halftime.
However, the Monarchs struck back to begin the second half, driving 65 yards through the air for a 13-10 advantage. A crucial missed PAT by L.A. Valley kept the deficit at three, and the Corsairs would make the most of that error with a Vaulton touchdown pass to sophomore WR Tariq Brown to give Santa Monica a lead it would not relinquish.
Another game-changing play would be made by the Corsair defense, as freshman DB Kayden Thomas prevented a potential L.A. Valley score with an interception at the Santa Monica five-yard line. Four plays later, Neos broke through the Monarch defense for a sideline-erupting 51-yard touchdown score to push the Corsairs ahead 24-13.
Following a spirited team stop on a 4th-and-2 quarterback sneak by the Corsair defense, Santa Monica began to punish the Monarchs on the ground, culminated with yet another Neos score for a seemingly commanding 31-13 Corsair lead with nine minutes left in the game.
L.A. Valley made a valiant effort until the very end, scoring immediately on the next possession with a 42-yard touchdown pass, followed by a successful two-point conversion pass, to cut the Santa Monica lead to 10. But the Corsair defense would complete its trifecta of clutch plays with just over two minutes left, as freshman LB Noah Ghodooshim forced a fumble into the hands of freshman DB Jai Guess at Santa Monica's three-yard line, leading to L.A. Valley having to burn their remaining timeouts on defense to put time surely on the Corsairs' side.
A late two-play touchdown run by the Monarchs with 17 seconds remaining put Santa Monica on its heels on the final kickoff, but the Corsairs recovered the onside kick to seal its first conference win.
Vaulton finished 12-of-21 for 181 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions on the day, but his additional 39 yards on 10 scrambles helped a Santa Monica rushing attack bully its way to a season-high 242 yards. 104 of those yards came from Neos on 17 carries, along with the three scores, bringing his rushing touchdown total to eight on the year. Biggus added 88 yards on just eight carries, while Brown again led the wideouts with six catches for 99 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, Vagle had a monstrous game with nine tackles (5.5 for loss), 2.5 sacks, a forced fumble and three quarterback hurries. Palees had two fumble recoveries, along with five tackles, while Ghodooshim finished with eight tackles and the crucial forced fumble.
Santa Monica will look to even its record with a road contest at Santa Barbara next Saturday at 1 p.m. A potential make-up home game against conference foe West L.A. (from October 2) is yet to be determined.