College of the Desert football survives barn burner in 46-45 win over Santa Monica

Any football fans who enjoy offense were treated to something special in the game between Santa Monica College and College of the Desert on Saturday night.

Both teams combined for 1,127 total yards and 12 touchdowns, six on each side, but it was the Roadrunners who escaped with a thrilling 46-45 nail-biting victory.

"It ain't about how you start, it's how you finish!" exclaimed College of the Desert head football coach Jack Steptoe when talking to his squad at halftime down 21-19, and again in the postgame huddle.

College of the Desert improved to 2-0 on the season, while Santa Monica dropped to 1-1.

The first half started slow for the Roadrunners, who trailed the Corsairs 14-6. Santa Monica was driving for another score when COD cornerback Myron West picked off a pass in the end zone.

This play proved to be a momentum-turning play as the Roadrunners, who appeared set to be down two touchdowns, instead scored on a 58-yard touchdown run by Kannin Boswell to close within 14-13.

The second half was all about offense. The third quarter featured 38 points scored between the two squads, and every drive by both the Roadrunners and Corsairs resulted in points and the lead going back and forth.

"After that first quarter, we had warmed up and started figuring out what we were doing offensively," said Steptoe. "We made adjustments, we had speed, they had speed, let's make it a track meet. That's what we did."

Defense took a back seat until the fourth quarter, a quarter where both teams only had one touchdown and outside of that had trouble moving the ball. Santa Monica got on the board early in the quarter and held a 45-40 lead for the majority of it. The Corsairs had two chances to put the game nearly out of reach with two field goal attempts, but missed both, allowing the Roadrunners to drive 75 yards and to toss a 40-yard fade to Isaac Eberhardt to take a 46-45 lead with 1:36 remaining.

The moment

The COD defense struggled all night, but they made plays when it mattered most. Santa Monica had one more chance to drive the ball down the field and win, but the Roadrunners were up to the challenge. The first play of the drive resulted in a sack by defensive back Shyde Elam, the second play resulted in an incompletion, and the third resulted in a completed pass that left fourth down and three. Corsairs quarterback Michael Cruz tried to scramble for the first down but was gang tackled a yard before the first down marker, and the Roadrunners escaped with a 46-45 win.

"The bottom line is you can criticize the defense for what happened for the majority of this game today," said Steptoe. "The bottom line is that they stepped up and made plays when it mattered most, and I'm so proud of them. That's when you have to be able to do that, when the chips are down, and they proved they could do that.

"When it was time to get it done, we got it done, and that's all that matters. You can talk about all that in between stuff, but the end result is we won 46-45!" laughed Steptoe.

The stars

Isaac Eberhardt, WR: The freshman receiver from Florida was a big play machine all night. He took a tunnel screen 70 yards for a touchdown to take the lead in the third quarter and caught the game-winning touchdown late in the fourth. Eberhardt finished with eight catches for 220 yards and two touchdowns.

Brycen Blankenship, QB: Blankenship was a calm and consisted presence in a wild game. He completed 22 of 31 passes for 389 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. He made a lot of great throws down the sideline that produced many explosive plays.

Kannin Boswell, RB: Boswell was a terror for the Corsairs defense all game. He carried the ball 21 times for 155 yards and three touchdowns, with a long of 58 yards.

Frankie Valentino, WR: Valentino, a local player known for his prolific career at Cathedral City High, produced a couple of huge plays and clutch catches, including a 60-yard touchdown in that wild third quarter. He finished with six catches for 136 yards and a touchdown.

Myron West, CB: West had a huge interception early on that turned into points for the Roadrunners.

Isaac Barranco, DE: In a game with mimimal defense, Barranco stood out on that side of the ball. He finished with 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss.

Dylan Armendariz, K: In a game decided by a point, clearly every point counts. The Corsairs missed two field goals that would have all but sealed the game, so having a player like Palm Springs graduate Armendariz on your side is a big help. He finished perfect kicking the ball, going two for two on field goals and 4 for 4 on extra points.

The chatter

Receiver Isaac Eberhardt on the Roadrunners final drive to take the lead:

"Every day coach Steptoe makes sure we do a two-minute drill at practice so that in situations like this we're prepared and ready to execute and put that ball in the end zone. We work on it everyday, it felt just like practice."

Head coach Jack Steptoe on kicker Dylan Armendariz's performance:

"He's a D1 guy. I trust Dylan to go out there and be automatic. He's got a great foot and he'll put that ball wherever we tell him to. He's a D1 kicker, there's no question about it."

Steptoe on Isaac Eberhardt's performance:

"He's amazing! When I was recruiting him from Miami, I knew there was something special about him, I really did. The way he talked, the confidence that he had, he's coming off some injuries he had when he was young coming out of high school, but I wanted to give him that chance. Now that he's healthy he's a division one guy, there's no question about it."

What's next?

College of the Desert hosts Pasadena City College at 7 p.m. Saturday.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: COD football survives barn burner in 46-45 win over Santa Monica