Led by a very strong defensive effort and a little bit of good fortune, Cal State Long Beach took control of the Gold Coast Men’s DIAA Conference with a 23-0 shutout of Santa Barbara City College Saturday.

Both CSULB and SBCC came into the game boasting high-powered offenses, so Long Beach Head Coach Jason Reynolds looked to neutralize his opponents’ attacking strengths.

Kevin Nguyen powers ahead for the 49ers. Kirby Winslow photo.

“We know Kevin Battle has them running their New Zealand academy offense where they run from everywhere and have really good support runners,” said Reynolds. “So we focused very heavily on our defense, spreading quickly, and keeping them in their end of the field.”

It worked well. Long Beach spent the vast majority of their time in SBCC territory, and so when they made a mistake and SBCC pounced, the Vaqueros had much too far to run to score. They helped the 49ers out, though, but funneling a few passes on those counter-attacks.

Long Beach also left points unclaimed, missing all four conversions and two of three penalty kicks, they also failed to get over the tryline on several forays close to pay dirt.

“We defended well, but we need to work on our finishing,” said Reynolds.

On the defensive side of the ball, Anthony Simeone, with the team for just three weeks, was a powerhouse at center, making some big stops on SBCC attacks. Flanker Johnny Cole was also a leader on defense, ensuring the forwards spread quickly and held their line, while flyhalf Adam Jones helped orchestrate an attack that notched four tries.

Meanwhile, San Diego continued its winning ways, defeating an improving USC 33-19. Cal State Fullerton beat UC Irvine 39-15 in the Higgins Cup, a challenge trophy named after late national team player Kevin Higgins. 

Long Beach State now improves to 3-0 and having beaten one of their chief rivals for the top spot in the Gold Coast, look ahead to next week’s clash with 2-0 San Diego. If they win that, the 49ers should have a clean run through the conference.

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