2011 Wrap-Up
SBCC FOOTBALL
By Dave Loveton, sports information
Monday, Nov. 28, 2011
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Young Vaqueros were resilient bunch
Hernandez led the state in tackles
Although they didn't win a game in 2011, the SBCC Vaqueros learned a lot about themselves.
"We have some guys who were tremendously resilient," said fifth-year coach Craig
Moropoulos, who had 69 freshmen and 14 sophomores. "They never gave up and competed
until the final whistle of the final game. That is very important and it's something
we are going to build on for next season.
"I saw tremendous improvement and probably the most important factor is that we had
a bunch of young freshmen gain valuable experience and hopefully will be able to transfer
that to next season."
Sophomore linebacker Manny Hernandez led the state in tackles for the second straight
year, averaging nearly 13 a game. He was a three-time American Pacific Conference
Player of the Week and earned first-team All-APC honors for the second straight year
despite missing two games with an injury.
"Manny is receiving interest from many schools including the University of Indiana
and New Mexico State," Moropoulos noted. "He's a potential mid-year transfer and those
are very popular with four-year schools."
Mitch Nelson, a freshman safety, was 10th in the state in 90 tackles and had a team-high
three interceptions. He was a second-team all-conference choice along with tight end
Tyson Heller and tackle Kenny Ruiz.
The Vaqueros were hit by the injury bug, losing starting quarterback Keegan Robilotta
in Week 6 and Hernandez in Week 7.
"When we lost our QB, it really set us back," said Moropoulos. "He was just starting
to get confident. I think that injuries (minimizing them) and the fact that we are
hoping to have a bye next season should help us."
The Vaqueros, who were 4-6 in 2010, compete in the only seven-team conference in
Southern California. As a result, one team has a bye each week in conference. SBCC
had its bye in Week 11 the last two years, which meant they were the only APC team
that didn't have a bye during the season.
The schedule changes every two years and there will be a new one in 2012.
American Pacific Conference
APC Season
Santa Monica 6-0 8-3
West L.A. 5-1 7-3
L.A. Valley 3-3 5-5
L.A. Southwest 3-3 4-6
L.A. Pierce 3-3 3-7
Glendale 1-5 1-9
SBCC 0-6 0-10
