The little bit of rain we got last week was nice too. We really needed it. The drought I'm referring to, however, is the Corsair's losing streak which ended Saturday night with their first win of the 2009 football season. It wasn't high scoring game. It might not have even been pretty, but a "W" is a "W."

The Santa Monica College Corsairs defeated Santa Barbara Community College Vaquero's 16-13.

The Corsairs drew first blood. SMC started the drive on their own six yard line with about eight minutes left in the first quarter. SMC wide receiver Donald Cooper rushed for one yard followed by a three yard rush by quarterback Breonat Shelton. Then on third and six, Shelton connected with wide receiver Sayyid Rivers for nine yards which gave SMC breathing room and a first down. A false start set them back five yards, but then Shelton again connects with Rivers and gained 13 yards. This was followed by a Gerryl Benett eight yard run giving the Corsairs their second first down of the night. Benett is an SMC wide receiver.

Two attempts later, and the first big play of the night, Shelton connected with wide receiver Kenneth Whiting for 36 yards to the Santa Barbara 32. SMC's next three attempts yields 16 offensive yards: running back Travis Rawls rushed for four; Benett ran for two and Shelton for ten which netted SMC not only another first down, but put them in the red zone on the Vaquero's 16 yard line.

Shelton was on his game. In pursuit of six points he completed an eight yard pass to wide receiver Anthony Windom and handed off to Rawls for a seven yard gain. The Rawls run made it first and goal on the two yard line. Shelton was stopped on his first rushing attempt but then punched through a tough Santa Barbara defense on his second try for the first score of the evening with 0:00 left on the clock. Angel Quintero missed the point after so the first quarter ended 6-0 in favor of SMC. The 94 yard drive took 8:01 off the clock in 15 plays.

On the kickoff after the score Rony Estrada executes a perfect 16 yard onside kick enabling the Corsairs to recover on their own 46 yard line. The ensuing drive opens with a Shelton five yard run followed by a Rawls four yard rush. On 3rd and one Shelton attempted to run but fumbled the ball. Fortunately for SMC, Rawls recovered it on the Santa Barbara 46 ... but two yards shy of a first down. Going for it on 4th down is always a tough decision, and in this case, it was fourth and two at midfield. This time the gutsy call did not pay off - Rawls was dropped for a one yard loss. Santa Barbara took over on downs on their own 47.

The turnover gave the Vaqueros newfound confidence. On their first play from scrimmage Vaqueros' free safety Lamont Dupree rushed for 19 yards to the SMC 34. SMC defensive end Roderick Benman almost sacked Santa Barbara quarterback John Uribe forcing an incomplete pass on the next play. Then SMC defensive tackle Chris Taumalolo forces Uribe to fumble after a six yard gain. Fortunately for SBCC Uribe managed to recover his own fumble at the SMC 40. On the second big play of the game, Uribe, on a keeper, rushed for 17 yards which would have been a touchdown if not for wide receiver Chase Fletcher who stopped him at the SMC 23. Uribe was injured on the play did not return. Reports indicate that this was a season-ending injury for Uribe.

Oscar Medina replaced Uribe at quarterback. A no-gain rush and a Medina pass to running back Tristan Carter resulted in an eight yard loss. Add a five yard delay of game penalty and the Santa Barbara drive is stopped forcing them to punt.

Just before the second quarter ended the Corsairs were sustaining a good drive until Shelton was intercepted by Vaqueros’ defensive back Matt Racowschi. Racowschi returned the ball 30 yards to the Santa Monica 22 when Fletcher forced a fumble. In the mellay that followed Santa Barbara line backer Charles Thomas recovered the ball on the SMC 20. On third and seven, SBCC quarterback Jordan Esparza connected with his wide receiver, Jakharie Murphy, for 12 yards for a first and goal at the five yard line. The Corsair defense stepped up again and the Vaqueros had to settle for a field goal. The half ended Santa Monica six, Santa Barbara three.

The third quarter was a battle of penalties and turnovers. A Shelton pass was intercepted by SBCC corner Aeryus Holloway on the SBCC 42 yard line. Two plays later Esparza connected with Carter who fumbled. The ball was recovered by SMC defensive back Barring Parsley at the 50.

SMC would capitalize on the turnover.

Shelton connected with Rawls for a short gain but a face mask penalty charged to free safety Lamont Dupree turned it into a 19 yard gain. Again the Corsairs get hot. Shelton connected with tight end Thomas Garcia for six yards. Rawls runs for five yards. Then Shelton again connects with Benett for 20 yards for the touchdown. This point after was good and SMC took a 13-3 lead.

SMC’s next offensive attempt would once again end with a turnover. SMC started this drive deep in their own territory. On first and ten from their own three, Rawls rushed for 11 yards. Shelton followed on the next play with a 12 yard run. Dennis Hope, SMC running back, struggled for four yards when SMC experienced the first setback of the drive. Shelton was sacked by defensive lineman Osvaldo Donato Castorena for an eight yard loss followed by an intentional grounding call which left SMC with a third and 14 at their own 22 yard line. Rawls broke one for 22 yards followed by a Benett 13 yard run and it looked like SMC was back on track. It was a short-lived turn-around although because on the next play SMC was penalized 15 yards for an illegal block. SBCC returned the favor on the next play and was penalized 15 yards for roughing the passer so SMC was back where they started; at their own 43. Two plays later, however, Shelton fumbled the ball and it was recovered by SBCC’s defensive lineman Brandon Peters at the SBCC 45.

SBCC would capitalize on the turnover.

SBCC followed in SMC’s footsteps on this drive – essentially taking three steps forward and two steps backwards because of penalties. Nevertheless, there were four notable efforts in this drive: a 12 yard pass from Media to his wide receiver, Brian Felt; a 13 yard pass from Media to wide receiver Arturo Gonzalez; a Media pass to running back Robyn Lawson for 15 yards; and a Media rush for 24 yards. Once again though, the SMC defense stood tall and limited SBCC to three points ending the third quarter with a score of 13-6, SMC’s favor.

SBCC was not finished. SBCC gained back to back first downs with solid five to seven yard gains. SMC helped the SBCC drive with a 15 yard personal foul. On a first and ten from the SMC 38, Medina connected with his wide receiver, Nicholas Amey, for an 11 yard gain to the 27. SMC sacked Medina for a five yard loss, but then gave back 14 yards for roughing the passer. On a second and nine from the SMC 17 Medina connected again with Amey for a 14 yard gain. With 4:30 left to play in regulation, Esparza took over the quarterback job and connected with tight end Josh Misegadis for a one yard touchdown pass tying the score at 13 all.

SMC’s final scoring drive of the game started at their own 30 yard line. Shelton completed five consecutive passes to Fletcher, Benett, Rivers and Whiting to get the Corsairs to the SBCC 27 yard line. A 14 yard SBCC penalty and a six yard Rawls run left SMC on the SBCC 7 yard line with 1:41 on the clock.

Rony Estrada sliced the uprights for the three points and a 16-13 lead.

There was plenty of time left on the clock to score with 1:41, but SBCC’s final drive was thwarted by a fumble. SMC only needed to kill the clock for the win.