Photo by Jim Spann
Photo: Warrior quarterback Steven Brantingham rushed for 214 yards, passed for 123 and scored five touchdowns.

Warriors roll over Pirates, 42-28
Senior quarterback Steven Brantingham continued to improve his game and lead the undefeated Warriors (3-0) through the Los Padres League (LPL).

Brantingham rushed for 204 yards, passed for 123 and scored a Carpinteria High School record five touchdowns en route to the Warriors, 42-28 victory over the Pirates at Carpinteria Valley Memorial Stadium on Sept. 23. It was their third straight victory over a LPL opponent.

Brantingham scored on rushes of 16, 10, 2, 32 and 11 yards on his way to earning the game MVP award.

“We all played our best and the team contributed to everything, I don’t know what to say,” said Brantingham, “It was just a fun game and I hear they’re our rivals and we just wanted to win.”

“All the guys on our staff say that this is the single finest by an individual that they’ve ever seen at a Carpinteria game,” said coach John Hazelton.

The Warriors started on the wrong foot, as a fumbled punt return resulted in the Pirates first-and-10 on the Warrior 49.

The Pirates quickly capitalized on the turnover and scored on a 39-yard reverse by Josh Hartman with 8:37 left in the first quarter taking a 6-0 lead, after a botched PAT.

That would be the last time the Pirates would lead as the Warriors reeled off 21 unanswered points to take a 21-6 lead in the third quarter.

A 19-yard run by J.P. Jimenez, set up Brantingham’s first touchdown from 16-yards out in the first quarter. On their ensuing offensive possession in the second quarter, Brantingham connected with tight end Joseph Aguilar (10-yards), Kolby Castillo (28-yards) and Andrew Campos (15-yards) to set up his second touchdown from 10-yards out, giving the Warriors a 14-6 lead.

“We had good plays from everybody and we all did great,” said Brantingham.

A punt return by Andrew Campos, resulted in the hit of the night as the Warrior player of the game, J.P. Jimenez, decleated a Santa Ynez player sending the crowd and sidelines into a frenzy.

It took Brantingham and the Warriors just seven plays to find the pay dirt again to take a 21-6 lead.

In the second half the Pirates would make it a game, as they got within one touchdown, 35-28, with six minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors went up, 35-20, on a 40-yard touchdown run by Campos in the fourth quarter. The Pirates answered back with a 46-yard touchdown reception by Zach Steele, the Santa Ynez player of the game, to make it 35-28.

It was then, that Brantingham took over the game to secure the Warriors third straight victory.

Brantingham rushed for 42 yards, including a fake punt, and tossed for 15 yards before scoring from 11 yards out with 1:06 left in the game and the Warriors riding a 42-28 lead.

Brantingham wasn’t done however, as he had a crucial sack to put the Pirates on their own 41 with 20 seconds left.

Next week the Warriors will face their archrivals, Bishop Diego, on Saturday, Oct. 1 at La Playa Stadium, it’ll also be their first TVL match up of the season.

“We look forward to this game all year and this is our game to go all out,” said Brantingham, “4-0, we’re going to go 4-0.”

“The rivalry will take care of itself,” said Hazelton, “I don’t like talking about Bishop will bring their best… I don’t want our kids to play anything else but (our football). Bring our best and the best we got and let it go.”