The Santa Ynez Valley Union High football team didn’t have much time to bask in the glory of its season-opening win at Carpinteria.

That’s because the Pirates have been preparing to host Lompoc on Friday.

On the heels of its decisive 23-14 victory against the Warriors, Santa Ynez is seeking to maintain momentum against a Braves’ squad that sustained a 35-25 road loss at the hands of Nipomo.

“Lompoc has more weapons (than Carpinteria), more of a running game,” said Pirates’ coach Ken Gruendyke. “They appear to be quicker up front defensively, so our line has to get off the ball.”

The Braves shouldn’t be overlooked regardless of last weekend’s outcome, Gruendyke said.

“They played tough, but got beat on some fade routes. They’re very balanced, using misdirection and play-action passing,” he added.

 

In turn, he said, the Pirates must come to play on both sides of the ball.

The Pirates are again expected to ride the arm of quarterback Tyler Shean, who tossed for 144 yards and a pair of TDs against the Warriors. The senior completed 11 of 19 passes, spreading the wealth among seven receivers, while surrendering just one interception.

It might behoove the visiting Braves to also pay attention to the Pirates’ rushing attack. In addition to Shean’s 34 yards on the ground, senior tailback Scott Arellano – the Oaks Christian transfer – chewed up 247 yards in the opener. He scampered for a 70-yard touchdown on Santa Ynez’s first play from scrimmage.

“We realize Lompoc will be eyeballing Scott, but they’re going to have to respect our pass game,” Gruendyke said, adding that he hopes to mix it up against the Braves with long passes. Against Carpinteria, Shean proved capable of firing downfield, connecting with Rowan Dimase and Junior Alejandre on scoring strikes of 34 and 27 yards, respectively.

 

Defensively, the Pirates bottled up the Warriors until Alex Rodriguez rumbled 47 yards to paydirt. Santa Ynez held a 20-7 lead at halftime, but saw that bulge sliced after giving up a 17-yard touchdown pass.

That was before Arellano, who also handled the kicking duties, booted a 20-yard field goal late to put the game away. In the Pirates’ victory, Arellano was 2 for 2 on PATs and converted 1 of 3 field goal attempts.

Coach Gruendyke was satisfied with his team’s effort.

“It worked out better than anticipated,” he said. “I’m pleased with how our kids started the game with a high level of intensity. We really took it to Carpinteria offensively and defensively. Although there were a lot of questions going in, we got a lot of those questions answered.”

If there was a downside to the first game, it was fumbles: The Pirates coughed up the ball three times.

“We have to clean that up,” said Gruendyke. “Turnovers enabled (the Warriors) to stay in the game longer than anticipated.”

 

The Pirates sustained no major injuries – just the usual bumps and bruises.

Kickoff for the Lompoc showdown is slated for 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Extra point: The Pirates begin Los Padres League action on Oct. 2, when Pioneer Valley comes to town.

 

jluksic@syvjournal.com