Athletics Homepage
Football Homepage

Coaching Staff
2011 Roster
2011 Sophomores
Schedule/Results
Statistics (2011 Final)

Alumni
Historical Facts
Gaucho Football HOF
Gaucho Football Records

Directions to Away Games
Directions to Saddleback
Our Facilities

Recruiting Bylaws
Become a GAUCHO

GoGauchos Travel

2010 (Season) Commits

Erik Akre, LB
Miami

Matt Belardes, WR
Menlo

Temeni Brewster, CB
Northwestern State

Michael Campana, RB
Humboldt State

Alex Castellanos, LB
Rhode Island

Taber Cheo, LB
Evangel

Brad Curtis, QB
SW Oklahoma State

Mike Di Domenico, OL
Tarleton State

Andrew Douglas, LB
Robert Morris

Michael Frisina, K
Boise State

Scott Graves, LB
San Diego State

Blake Harrah, DE
Oregon State

Max Little, OL
Humboldt State

Lanny Papanikolas, WR
Weber State

Chris Pierce, RB
Chowan

Chase Pinesett, LB
Jackson State

Sean Reilly, QB
UNLV

Matt Reza, DB
Cal Poly SLO

Samuel Tautolo, OC
Iowa State

Steven Watts, OL
Stony Brook

Location: PE 505 [map]
Phone: (949) 582-4639
Fax: (949) 347-9328

Mark McElroy
Head Football Coach
(949) 582-4639
mmcelroy@saddleback.edu

Steve Crapo
Asst. Football Coach
(949) 582-4506
scrapo@saddleback.edu

Kerry Crabb
Asst. Football Coach
(949) 582-4406
kcrabb@saddleback.edu

Don Butcher
Director, Football Operations
(949) 582-4643
dbutcher@saddleback.edu

2007 Gaucho News

Gaucho Turnovers Prove Costly In Bowl Game

Saddleback’s third trip in the past four years to the post-season playoffs ended abruptly as the host College of the Canyons edged the Gauchos, 34-24, on Saturday night in Santa Clarita.

Saddleback committed four turnovers in the contest, leading to 21 Cougar points.  The costliest coming on the Gauchos’ first drive of the fourth quarter.  Trailing 27-24, Saddleback punter Jon Knack opened the fourth quarter by kicking the ball out of bounds at the Canyons 5-yard line, pinning the Cougars deep inside their own territory.  Saddleback’s defense held the Cougars there to force a punt and Rico Russo called for a fair catch just inside midfield, giving the Gauchos great field position.  After a 21-yard pass from Sebastian Trujillo to receiver Eric Robles moved the ball to the Canyons 26-yard line, the turnover bug hit again.  Trujillo’s quarterback option around the right end was fumbled and Canyons recovered.  The fumble not only stopped a potential go-ahead drive, but it also seemed to take some of the energy out of the defense which was hoping for a longer rest.  Two players later, after passes of 45 and 28 yards, the Cougars were in the endzone, increasing their lead back to 10 points.

Canyons started the scoring on its fourth drive of the first quarter, taking advantage of a mishandled punt return by the Gauchos.  Saddleback’s fumble gave the Cougars the ball at the 19-yard line and they scored on their first play of that series, a 19-yard pass.  But Saddleback was able to knot the score at 7-7 about four minutes later as Cougar quarterback Bradford McClellan was sacked by Thomas Bauer and Mark Berry, coughing up the ball in the process.  Trujillo scampered in from nine yards away on the third play following the turnover to get Saddleback on the scoreboard.

The Cougars answered right back, using a 50-yard run by tailback Fred Winborn to go up 13-7 at the end of the first quarter, then increased the lead to 20-7 early in the second quarter on a 66-yard run by Raphael Reynolds.  Saddleback’s defense blocked a Canyon’s punt later in the quarter, giving the Gauchos field position at the Cougar 24.  The Gauchos could only advance the ball 10 yards on seven plays and Eric Carr kicked a 31-yard field goal to make the score 20-10 at halftime.

Saddleback took the second half kickoff back to the Canyons 24-yard line as Micah Abreu-Laybon had an electrifying 64-yard return.  Five plays later, Trujillo found Maurice Clark in the endzone for a 22-yard scoring strike and Saddleback had cut the deficit to three points, 20-17.   But the Gauchos gave the touchdown back on their next possession as Trujillo was intercepted by defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul who returned the pick 20 yards for a touchdown.

Trujillo went back to work with more conviction, leading the Gauchos on a 10-play, 80-yard drive which was capped by another 30-yard touchdown pass from Trujillo to Clark and Saddleback trailed 27-24 near the end of the third quarter.  With two solid drives in the third quarter and plenty of momentum, it appeared the Gauchos might be able to catch the Cougars in the fourth quarter.  But the fourth quarter fumble changed the momentum and Canyons would hold on for the victory.

 Abreu-Laybon had 13 carries for 81 yards and two kickoff returns for 82 yards, finishing the game with 170 all-purpose yards.  Cheyne Verhagen added 71 rushing yards on 14 carries and Trujillo was 17-for-28 passing for 192 yards and two touchdowns.  Ben Terry led the defense with seven tackles, including a sack and three tackles for lost yardage.  He also forced a fumble.

This marked the seventh consecutive year that Saddleback has participated in a post-season bowl game under head coach Mark McElroy.  The Gauchos are 4-3 in those games.  

A Dozen Gauchos Placed on All-Conference List

Saddleback had 12 players voted onto the All-Mission Conference National Division list this week, split evenly with six first-team selections and six second-team selections.

 Center Patrick Calahan was the only Gaucho mentioned on the first-team offense. However, the defense was full of Gauchos as defensive tackle Justin Fesili earned first-team honors as well as sophomore linebackers Ben Terry and Thomas Bauer. Also earning first-team recognition were safety Aaron Brown and cornerback Mikah Pada.

Earning second-team all-conference recognition on offense were sophomore running back Cheyne Verhagen, wide receivers Maurice Clark and Mike Tinoco, and offensive lineman Bikram Randhawa. On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Sam Latham and safety Rico Russo earned all-conference honors.     

Gaucho Football FallsTo El Camino 31-24 in First Loss Of Season

Saddleback suffered its first loss of the season, falling to El Camino by a 31-24 count on the Warriors’ home turf.
The Gauchos (4-1) dominated El Camino (4-1) in the first quarter. The offense touched the ball twice and scored both times, putting together a 57-yard scoring drive on its first possession and adding a 68-yard scoring drive on its second possession. The defense also enjoyed great success, limiting El Camino to minus-4 yards on its first possession and just 30 yards on its second possession. El Camino was able to put together a 68-yard drive on its third possession, but it never reached the endzone. The Gaucho defense stopped El Camino on four plays from the Saddleback 1-yard line and the Gauchos took over on downs. However, on Saddleback’s first play of that series, a bad snap went into the endzone and quarterback Brian Shrock fell on it for a safety.

Eric Carr kicked a field goal for the Gauchos early in the second quarter to give Saddleback a 17-2 lead, but the rest of the quarter belonged to El Camino. The Warriors put together a 7-play, 76-yard scoring drive and a 6-play, 97-yard scoring drive to tie the score at 17-17 heading into the intermission. ECC’s Devynn Brown intercepted Shrock twice in the second quarter. Once at the El Camino 2-yard line and once at the El Camino 10-yard line.

The teams exchanged touchdowns in the third quarter. After Tavares Pressley scored on an 11-yard run to cap an 8-play, 80-yard drive, Saddleback responded immediately with a 9-play, 65-yard scoring drive as Josh Ferrell caught a 9-yard scoring pass from Shrock.

El Camino regained the lead just one minute into the fourth quarter as Pressley caught a short pass from quarterback Boo Jackson and raced 74 yards to the endzone. After Danny Urias stripped Pressley of the ball on the Warrior’s next possession, Shrock started to build the potential game-tying drive. He marched the Gauchos all the way down to the ECC 2-yard line with the help of a 41-yard pass to a fully extended Maurice Clark. However, Shrock was intercepted a third time at the goal line to end the drive and El Camino ran out the remaining three minutes on the clock.

Cheyne Verhagen rushed 14 times for 87 yards and Ferrell added 63 rushing yards and 35 receiving yards. Mike Tinoco had six catches for 104 yards.

Saddleback’s last loss on the road was to El Camino in Murdock Stadium during the 2005 season. Saddleback is 18-3 since the eighth week of the 2005 season with all three of those losses coming from El Camino.

Gauchos Remain Unbeaten After Being Challenged by Hornets at Home

The Saddleback College football team improved its record to 4-0 on the season with a 24-17 victory over Fullerton College at home on Saturday night. It was a fast-paced game with both teams getting plenty of opportunities to try out the entire playbook. Saddleback ran 80 offensive plays and gained 621 yards (7.8 yards per play). Fullerton ran 78 plays and gained 371 yards (4.8 yards per play).

Freshman quarterback Brian Shrock was the hot hand. Although he threw three interceptions and was sacked twice, Shrock more than made up for that by throwing for 408 yards and two touchdowns. He becomes only the fifth Saddleback quarterback in school history to throw for over 400 yards in a single game, getting two more yards than Colt Brennan’s best game as a Gaucho (406 yards). He also reached the 1,000-yard passing mark in only his fourth college game, accounting for 1,012 passing yards and nine touchdowns.

All receivers were thrilled with Shrock’s passing accuracy, especially Maurice Clark (5 receptions, 117 yards, 1 TD), Mike Tinoco (5 receptions, 56 yards), and Jimmy Flanagan (3 receptions, 94 yards, 1 TD). Shrock found Clark wide open downfield for a 40-yard scoring strike in the second quarter and Flanagan was wide open over the middle for a 75-yard scoring strike in the third quarter.

Fullerton was able to score a touchdown in the third quarter, the first points Saddleback has allowed in the third quarter this season, to cut Saddleback’s lead to 17-14. But Shrock’s pass to Flanagan in the closing seconds of the quarter extended Saddleback’s lead back to 10 points, 24-14. Fullerton’s Carlos Reyes connected on a 40-yard field goal with 2:36 to play but that was the last time the Hornets would touch the ball.

Saddleback’s Mikah Pada, Mark Berry, and Danny Urias each posted 10 tackles. Matt Estrada led Fullerton’s defense with 13 tackles.

Saddleback, ranked No. 2 in Southern California and No. 2 in the state, will travel to face El Camino College (3-1) at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 29. The Warriors are ranked No. 4 in Southern California and No. 8 in the state.

Gauchos Stage Second Half Comeback To Sink Long Beach City 38-35

Saddleback College was well represented on the Mission Conference National Division’s all-conference list, getting 18 players and a coach recognized for their efforts in helping Saddleback to an undefeated regular season (10-0) and the Mission Conference title.

In its quest to win its 300th football game in school history, Saddleback nearly shot itself in the foot on Saturday before righting the ship in time to edge Long Beach City College 38-35 in an exciting finish at Long Beach’s Veterans Stadium.

Saddleback’s five first-half turnovers led to four Long Beach City College scores and the Gauchos found themselves trailing 28-3 at halftime. Three lost fumbles and two interceptions by starting quarterback Brian Shrock left the Gauchos stymied as to how the offense would ever get a rhythm going. Whatever happened in the locker room at the intermission proved to be the key the Gauchos were looking for.

Although the Gauchos fumbled away the ball on their opening possession of the second half, there was a much better spark to the offense and better concentration. The second time Saddleback touched the ball in the second half, Shrock led the team 81 yards downfield for a score, capped by a 32-yard pass to Nick Hutter. The scoring barrage was on!

Now it was Long Beach’s turn to turn the ball over and the Vikings complied with a pair of turnovers in the third quarter. Saddleback capitalized with Shrock finding Maurice Clark for a 9-yard touchdown pass and then Cheyne Verhagen pulled in a 7-yard touchdown pass. The Gauchos took the lead early in the fourth quarter as Shrock split two defenders with a spiral which found Mike Tinoco for a 43-yard touchdown, giving Saddleback a 31-28 lead and erasing the first-half blunders which put the Gauchos in a hole.

Long Beach answered back just one minute later, marching 80 yards in five plays and having Johnny Toloumu dive in from one yard out to regain the lead, 35-31. It was the Vikings first rushing touchdown of the season.
However, over 11 minutes remained in the game and the Saddleback offense was not yet about to panic. After a solid kick return shortened the field, Shrock led the offense 55 yards in nine plays and fullback Josh Ferrell smashed in for a 1-yard touchdown run to put Saddleback on top again, 38-35.

Saddleback had just 75 rushing yards and 93 passing yards in the first half, but finished with 213 rushing yards and 354 passing yards as the offense came to life in the second half. Shrock finished the game with 324 passing yards and four touchdowns. He also ran for 63 yards. Andrew Nakihei also had 63 rushing yards and caught five passes for 74 yards. But probably the biggest offensive surprise was receiver Nick Hutter who caught nine passes for 120 yards and a score, making receptions at critical times in the second half.

The victory improves Saddleback’s overall record to 3-0 while Long Beach falls to 1-2. The victory also proved to be Saddleback’s milestone 300th win in school history. This is the 40th football team fielded by the college.

Gauchos Defense Halts Raiders To Stay Unbeaten

Saddleback improved to 2-0 on the season with a convincing 41-13 victory over Moorpark after a somewhat auspicious start to a game which was ultimately controlled by the Gauchos.

Moorpark took the opening kickoff and put together a 17-play,69-yard drive which reached the Saddleback 5-yard line before the Gauchos held firm to force a Raider field goal.

Saddleback fumbled the kickoff return, giving the Raiders the ball back in Gaucho territory. But the Saddleback defense held firm again, getting the ball back on downs. Saddleback's offense then went to work, putting together an 11-play, 62-yard scoring drive which was capped off with a 19-yard touchdown pass by Brian Shrock to Nick Hutter to give the Gauchos a 7-3 lead.

That lead didn't hold up for long as Moorpark converted a 54-yard scoring pass on the first play of the second quarter to regain the lead, 10-7, and it looked like it might be a see-saw battle for the remainder of the night. However, Saddleback's defense got stingy and the offense got loose. After Shrock's fumble gave Moorpark the ball at the Saddleback 32-yard line, the Gauchos defense went to work. A Raider holding penalty and an offensive pass interference call pushed the ball back inside Moorpark territory, then a high snap over the head of the punter gave Saddleback the ball at the Raider 22. It took Saddleback just five plays to reach the endzone and reclaim the lead, 14-10. Saddleback's defense forced three Moorpark punts on the Raiders next three possessions of the half and the Gauchos added another touchdown to take a 20-10 lead at the intermission. The Gauchos added another touchdown on the opening drive of the second half as Andrew Nakihei returned the second-half kickoff 63 yards to the Raider 35-yard line. Four plays later, Nakihei scampered 19 yards for a touchdown. The Gaucho defense limited Moorpark to just 40 yards for the remainder of the third quarter and 87 in the fourth quarter as the Gauchos were able to dip deep into the bench for the second week and play many of the reserves. Cheyne Verhagen led the Gauchos with 104 rushing yards on 10 carries and three receptions for 23 yards. Shrock had 94 rushing yards and 159 passing yards while Nakihei accounted for 123 all-purpose yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Saddleback travels to Long Beach to face the Vikings on Saturday,September 15.

Gauchos Win Season Opener 51-0 Over Mt. San Jacinto

Saddleback opened the season with a resounding 51-0 victory over Mt. San Jacinto College at home on Saturday.
The Gauchos scored on all three possessions of the first quarter and then two of its five possessions in the second quarter to take a 37-0 lead at halftime. That cushion allowed the coaching staff to make liberal substitutions in the second half as 74 players saw action on the field.

Quarterback Brian Shrock was 9-for-12 passing for 121 yards and a touchdown. He also had five carries for 45 yards and another score. Sebastian Trujillo came off the bench early to relieve Shrock and ended up with 7-for-12 passing for 157 yards and a touchdown. He also scampered for 44 yards on four carries.

Maurice Clark was the favorite target, catching four passes for 92 yards and a score. Andrew Nakihei caught two passes for 66 yards and a score while also carrying the ball seven times for 34 yards and a score.

Saddleback’s defense limited the Eagles to just one first down in the first half and only 140 yards of total offense during the evening. Most of that came on a final drive in the fourth quarter which reached the Saddleback 1-yard line before the Gaucho defense held firm, stopping Mt. San Jacinto from scoring with 31 seconds remaining to preserve the shut out.

The Gauchos will travel to Moorpark College to face the Raiders next Saturday, September 8, for a 5:00 p.m. kickoff.