USD Again Close, but Santa Barbara Preserves Victory With Interception

SAN DIEGO — For the fourth time this season, victory eluded the University of San Diego in the final moments of a game.

With 31 seconds left to play Saturday against UC Santa Barbara, USD had a first down at the Gaucho 14. Quarterback Doug Piper dropped back and threw over the middle to tight end David Nottoli, who was streaking across the goal line. The pass was on target and almost in Nottoli’s lap when UCSB safety Bryan Scher made a diving, fingertip interception for a touchback.

USD (4-4) once again had come close. But UC Santa Barbara escaped with a 13-10 victory.

Against Menlo in its opener, USD led by 11 in the fourth quarter but lost, 18-17, with 1 minute 22 seconds remaining. Two weeks later, Redlands scored 2 touchdowns in the fourth quarter, the last with 38 seconds, to defeat the Toreros, 17-10. Two weeks ago, Occidental defeated USD, 20-16, after the Toreros’ last-minute, fourth-down pass from Occidental’s 7 fell incomplete in the end zone.

Saturday, in front of a standing-room-only homecoming crowd of more than 4,000, USD led, 10-6, with a little more than 2 minutes remaining. On second and goal from USD’s 9, UCSB quarterback Mike Curtius (25 for 40, 235 yards) hit Kevin King in the end zone to cap a 4-minute, 59-yard drive for the winning points.

“I’ve have had seasons like this before, but not this bad,” USD Coach Brian Fogarty said. “We’ve had 4 games we’ve come up on the short end in games we should have won. I can’t explain it.”

After Santa Barbara (5-4) took the lead, USD had 2 minutes to drive 66 yards. Piper (15 for 26, 172 yards) connected with Ken Jones for 15 yards on a third-down play and with Sam McDermott for 11 yards on a fourth-and-7. A late hit on McDermott gave USD a first down at the Gaucho 14.

Scher’s interception was the Gauchos fourth, the second in the end zone. USD also intercepted 4 passes. Darryl Jackson returned a fourth-quarter interception 25 yards to the UCSB 3, but 2 clipping penalties pushed the Toreros back, and Broderick Spencer blocked Jim Morrison’s 46-yard field goal attempt.

UCSB took a 6-0 lead on its first drive on a spectacular one-handed catch in the corner of the end zone by Amahl Thomas. USD cut it to 6-3 on a 42-yard field goal by Morrison. In the third quarter, Todd Jackson ran in from the 5 to give USD its 10-6 lead.