Glendale falls to Santa Barbara 24-6; Kevin Armstead paces the GCC offense
On the occasion of its first home football game in almost two years Oct. 2 at Sartoris Field, Glendale College was poised for a big night against visiting Santa Barbara. It was a beautiful Saturday evening with the stands almost full and the debut of the GCC Athletics Pep Band filling the air with music as the Vaqueros from both schools battled for supremacy of the mascot and the field.
But an early 6-0 lead for Glendale did not hold up as the visitors from Santa Barbara scored 24 unanswered points to come away with the 24-6 win to even the decades long season series at 23-23-1 and drop Glendale's record to 1-2 this season while Santa Barbara won its third straight game to improve to 3-1.
After having its Sept. 25 at College of the Desert postponed due Covid-19 issues and the coaching staff and players dealing with health protocols that limited team practice time, that lack of cohesion showed as Glendale turned the ball over six times, three times on fumbles and three times on interceptions. But despite the turnovers, the home team Vaqueros led 6-0 in the first half on a 25-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Nick Garcia to Nick Johnson with 35 seconds left in the second quarter.
But the GCC miscues started to add up for Santa Barbara points in the second half despite the efforts of running back Kevin Armstead who rushed for a game high 114 yards on 19 carries and quarterback Nick Garcia who passed for 166 yards on 21 completions of 35 pass attempts and one score.
Glendale completes its non-conference schedule Saturday Oct. 9 at Los Angeles Pierce College at 6 pm.