DIVISION II : Santa Barbara, Muir Co-Champs After 7-7 Tie

Without the luxury of an overtime in the Southern Section Division II finals, Santa Barbara and Muir had to settle for a 7-7 tie before an overflow crowd of 10,000 Saturday night at the La Playa Stadium in Santa Barbara.

What the teams lacked in scoring they made up for in turnovers. They combined for seven in the second half alone.

Santa Barbara had advanced to the finals by defeating Canyon Country Canyon, 28-27, in a controversial overtime game last week, while Pasadena Muir defeated No. 1 seeded Thousand Oaks, 9-3, also in overtime.

Santa Barbara got off to a good start when wide receiver Simon Banks took the opening kickoff to his 40-yard line, one defender away from a touchdown, but came up empty-handed when kicker George Rios missed a field goal attempt from the 31-yard line.

The Dons’ second possession was much more rewarding as they opened the scoring late in the first quarter on a fourth-and-two play. Poncho Renteria capped the five-play, 50-yard drive with a 26-yard pass to Banks.

Muir struck back on a 79-yard punt return by senior defensive back Stefan Crutchfield with 7:45 to go in the second quarter.

“We expected a low-scoring game coming in,” Santa Barbara Coach Manuel Garcia said.

In the second half it was the Dons’ turn to deal with a lack of offense as they failed to capitalize on several opportunities. Fortunately for the Dons, the Mustangs couldn’t capitalize either.

Muir’s second possession of the third quarter ended when Banks picked off a Renteria pass on his own 45. On their next possession, the Mustangs drove to the the Dons’ 25 before Don defensive back Robby Blakeney recovered running back Sam Williford’s fumble.

The Dons’ defense saved the game again in the fourth quarter, when Bryan Stiles intercepted a pass in the end zone.

However, the Mustangs struck back immediately when defensive back Demitrius Martin picked off a Renteria pass, only the second interception Renteria had thrown this year.

The turnovers continued two plays later when Santa Barbara nose guard George Amezcua hit Andre Devizen as he took a handoff from quarterback Sedric Thomas, forcing a fumble. Renteria then threw his second interception of the game and the third of the season, giving the Mustangs the ball back with 36 seconds to play.

Thomas managed to move the Mustangs to the Dons’ 20 with a 33-yard pass to Martin, but then he was intercepted by Don defensive back Greg Araujo.

However, Santa Barbara was unable to get a final play off.