Vaqueros looking to close the deal
GLENDALE — The members of the Glendale Community College football team could use some luck right about now.
At 0-7 overall and 0-3 in the Pacific Conference’s American Division, who could blame them? Anything will do in the aftermath of three consecutive losses by six points or less.
“We are close and we keep on improving,” said Glendale third-year Coach John Rome, whose team will battle visiting Santa Barbara City College in a division game at 6 p.m. today at Sartoris Field after coming off a last-second 26-24 division road loss to West L.A. on Oct. 23. “I’ve never seen a game like last week where it literally came down to us losing on the last play of the game.
“In one sense, it’s frustrating. On the other hand, there’s a silver lining because they are fighting and competing and that’s all you can really ask for.”
Glendale will participate in its final home game of the season before finishing up with road contests against Santa Monica City and L.A. Southwestern on Nov. 6 and 13, respectively.
A good performance in front of a home audience might buoy Glendale, which saw West L.A. convert on fourth down and 15 with 10 seconds left before kicking a winning field goal.
“Even at 0-7, the players have been extremely positive,” Rome said. “We just have to do some things better across the board.
“We have to make tackles, we have to be able to come out and establish the run right away in the first quarter and we have to play error-free football.”
Santa Barbara (3-5, 2-2) heads south on a two-game losing streak. It suffered a 30-24 division road loss against L.A. Valley on Oct. 23. Santa Barbara’s last two defeats have been within five points or less.
“They like to run a multiple-style offense and they do a lot of things well because of that,” Rome said. “We haven’t quit and we are willing to step up and play Santa Barbara because we believe that we have a chance.”
Glendale and Santa Barbara are similar in several categories. For example, both have had difficulty as of late stopping the run. Glendale ranks 33rd in Southern California in run defense, allowing 187.1 yards per game. Santa Barbara is 34th (197.2).
Santa Barbara and Glendale are 32nd and 35th, respectively, in Southern California in points allowed per game. Santa Barbara yields 32.4 points per game, while Glendale gives up 36.
On offense, Santa Barbara is 20th in Southern California in scoring offense (26.8 points per game) and Glendale ranks 24th (24.0).
“We are not getting blown out,” Rome said. “We just have to be able to finish.
“We have gotten better offensively and we held West L.A. to three field goals in the second half.”
