Corsair football dominates Antelope Valley

The Santa Monica College Corsairs got back on the winning track Saturday afternoon, as they dominated the visiting Antelope Valley Marauders 66-7.

It appeared the Corsairs might have their hands full early on, when quarterback Jake Dashnaw fumbled on the one-yard line during the Corsair’s first trip to the red zone, less than five minutes into the game.

With most of the Corsairs in a dog-pile on the goal line, Antelope Valley defensive back Sean Plousha made the most of it, as he promptly returned the fumble 99-yards for the touchdown.

“That’s not a play we want to have. But what we talked about was the next play, and how we deal with adversity,” said head coach Gifford Lindheim. “We needed to grab the momentum back. There was no panic on the sidelines; everybody was poised, because we had a whole football game to play. We felt like we could be the better team if we could just get ourselves together, and execute the way we know we can.”

From that point on, the Marauders would fail to put another point on the board against a stifling SMC defense, and the Corsairs would finish the game on a 66-0 run.

The outmatched Marauders could do nothing to crack the impenetrable Corsair defense, and even when Antelope Valley managed to get into the red zone, SMC would find a way to force one of their six turnovers. One of which was a 75-yard interception for a touchdown by defensive back Jashawn Lowe.

“The defense improved today, and that’s what we were looking for. We have to continue to get better. There are still a lot of plays that were leaving on the field, but overall I’m very pleased with the way we improved this week.” Lindheim.

 

SMC’s 66-0 run was fueled by starting quarterback Jake Dashnaw’s 269 passing yards, and three touchdowns, with no interceptions.

One of Dashnaw’s more notable touchdowns came after the referee’s called back a perfectly thrown 36-yard touchdown pass because of an offensive pass interference.

On the next play, Dashnaw threw a 46-yard bubble screen to Paris Bostick tying the game 7-7, but more importantly, such a quick score seemed to demoralize the Marauders, setting the stage for the blowout.

“To score on the next play like that is really important, especially after a call like that, or any play that sets us back,” said quarterback Jake Dashnaw. “It’s really good to step on their throat when we can, and get it done. It’s always important to get a win in, but we just need to focus on next week.”

In addition to Dashnaw’s three touchdowns, backup quarterback Steven Hamm also passed for 76 yards and a touchdown, and third string quarterback Christian Smith went 2-2 for 12 yards and two touchdowns.

“When you’ve won three championships, and 21 consecutive conference games, you should feel comfortable when you get into conference that you can handle your opponents,” said Lindheim. “But my concern wasn’t Antelope Valley, as much as us, and after the bye, getting ourselves going. We have a lot of new guys, and we’ve got to get them playing our brand of football, and I think we’re headed in the right direction, although we have another tough one next week.”

SMC will look to improve to 2-2 next Saturday as they host Glendale Community College in Santa Monica at 1 p.m.