Buena Hammers Out 10-10 Tie

SANTA BARBARA — Pardon the Buena Bulldogs, if after a second consecutive tie, they don’t feel like kissing their kicker.

James Hammer’s extra point with 1:25 to play gave Buena (4-1-2, 2-0-2) a 10-10 deadlock with Santa Barbara Friday night, but judging by the long faces on the Bulldog sidelines, it wasn’t the desired result.

“It’s like a loss,” said Buena quarterback Glenn Dudley, who engineered an 89-yard, 10-play scoring drive in the final 3 1/2 minutes to bring the Bulldogs back. “You just can’t feel good about things.”

Oxnard took a one-game lead over Buena in the Channel League standings with a victory Friday night over Dos Pueblos, which held Buena to a 27-27 tie last week.

Buena was on the defensive early, when Santa Barbara tailback Khalid Hurst raced 88 yards for a touchdown on the Dons’ first play from scrimmage.

Hurst piled up 182 yards in the first half and finished with 244 in 36 carries, but couldn’t crack the goal line a second time as the Buena defense began to zero in on him in the second half.

The Bulldogs drove to Santa Barbara’s nine-yard line early in the second half but could only come away with Hammer’s 32-yard field goal.

The Dons’ Cesar Abrego answered with a 39-yard field goal on Santa Barbara’s next drive.

After four consecutive completions to move into Santa Barbara territory, the Bulldogs ran on four of the next five plays, bringing them to the Dons’ 21-yard line on first down.

The 6-3 Dudley spied tailback Josh Cross running a post pattern from the right side and drilled him with a scoring pass to bring Buena within one point.

“I tried to throw it as hard as possible,” said Dudley, who finished 22 of 31 with an interception and a touchdown.

“Our receivers were wide open most of the night and Josh sure was on that play.”

Santa Barbara (4-2-1, 2-1-1) nearly pulled off a comeback of its own, when Michael Garrett intercepted Dudley’s pass at the Bulldogs’ 31 with only seconds to play.

An initial 52-yard field goal attempt by Jorge Flores was short, and after Buena was penalized for roughing the kicker, a 37-yard try by Abrego fluttered wide to the left with no time remaining.