Edgar Melik-Stepanyan
MOYSE FIELD -- After sharing snaps with Seth Santoro for mostof the
season, Joe Kroells, now officially the starting quarterback for the
Glendale Community College football team, put all ofhis skeptics to rest
Saturday against Santa Barbara College.
Kroells solidified his position as the starter with an impressive
performance against Santa Barbara.
The freshman out of Burroughs High passed for 232 yards on 19 of 27
passing and two touchdowns, leading GCC to a 23-13 victory over Santa
Barbara in a Western State Conference Northern Division game, snapping a
two game losing streak.
"Joe made some good decisions today," said GCC Coach John Cicuto,
whose team improved to 3-4, 2-2 in division. "I'm really happy with his
performance."
Cicuto eliminated any question of Santoro returning as a starter when
he said, "Seth is our punter and Joe will be the starter."
In the third quarter with GCC ahead by only three points Kroells
connected with Michael Bautista for his second touchdown, a 12-yard
strike in the corner of the end zone, for the final score with 5:05
remaining. Bautista caught five passesfor 42 yards.
In the first half Kroells passed for 115 yards, on 10 of 14 passing.
His first touchdown came just 28 seconds before the end of the opening
half. After Rob Hoy intercepted a Santa Barbara pass from Zac Dean,
Kroells threw a 44-yard pass play to Jonathan Sims, who made a
spectacular catch, jumping in between two defenders for a touchdown to
put GCC ahead, 16-3.
Commador Lenoir added a four-yard touchdown run in the first quarter
with 4:07 left.
Sims led the receiving core with five catches for 107 yards.
"We finally put together a solid team win," Kroells said. "There
defense was somewhat soft and I took advantage of it."
Santa Barbara remained winless, dropping to 0-7, 0-4 in division.
Dean, the fourth-string quarterback, passed for 274 yards on 25 of 49
passing.
GLENDALE COMMUNITY COLLEGE 23, SANTA BARBARA 13
Santa Barbara 0 6 7 0 -- 13
GCC 7 9 7 0 -- 23
First Quarter
GCC-Lenoir 4 run (Santoro kick) 4:07
Second Quarter
GCC-Santoro 34 field goal 12:55
SB-Harvey 22 field goal 10:02
GCC-Sims 44 pass from Kroells (kick failed) 0:28
SB-Harvey 40 field goal 0:00
Third Quarter
SB-Brantley 1 run (Harvey kick) 8:12
GCC-Bautista 12 pass from Kroells (Santoro kick) 5:05
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Santa Barbara -- Brantley 6-16. Dean 8-13. Brunner 2-2.
Maganda 1-0. Goodwin 1-(-4). GCC -- Lenoir 21-59, 1 TD (4 yards). Santoro
2-35. Applewhite 12-23. Hu 1-0. Kroells 4-(-13).
PASSING: Santa Barbara -- Dean 25-49-2 274 yards. Brunner 0-1-0 0
yards. GCC -- 19-27-0 232 yards, 2 TD (44, 12 yards).
RECEIVING: Santa Barbara -- Seely 12-131. Brunner 5-65. Scott 4-40.
Melero 3-18. Lawrence 1-20. GCC -- Sims 5-107, 1 TD (44 yards). Bautista
5-42, 1 TD (12 yards). Baird 2-31. Lenoir 2-17. Prado 2-9. Desmarais
1-16. Olivia 1-5. Salisbury 1-5.
PUNTING: Santa Barbara -- Sotelo 4-123 (30.8 avg.). Harvey 1-0 (0.0
avg.). GCC -- Santoro 3-103 (34.3 avg.).
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Santa Barbara -- Sitter. GCC -- Hu.
INTERCEPTIONS: Santa Barbara -- none. GCC -- Hoy. Gilbert.
