Santa Fe Springs, CA — SANTA FE SPRINGS – It took two overtimes and a three-hour bus ride but victory has never felt sweeter for the Santa Barbara High football team. Santa Barbara held on to defeat the St. Paul Swordsmen 41-35 in the first round of the CIF-SS D4 football playoffs on Friday. Dons quarterback Abel Renteria shook off a rough start which included two first-quarter interceptions to come back and lead his team in the second half and St. Paul in overtime. “When we play with confidence, we know we can beat anybody,” Renteria said excitedly. Santa Barbara head coach Nathan Mendoza said Renteria was hungry for the ball. “He kept coming to us on the sideline and asking for the ball in his hands,” he said. Renteria finished with three touchdowns, two rushing and one passing, including the game-winning touchdown in the second overtime period. St. Paul could not overcome a slow offensive first half as the Dons were up 13-7 at the half Swordsmen head coach Mike Moschetti said starting slow has plagued the team all season. “It’s something that kind of happened all year long, offensively, and defensively we start slow, and that’s something we’re going to look to fix in the offseason,” he said. St. Paul defensive back Marcus Munoz’s two first-quarter interceptions helped the Swordsmen defense quell Santa Barbara’s air attack as the Dons moved towards running the ball late in the game. Dons running back Koa Herrera was electric with the ball in his hands as he finished with two rushing touchdowns. Swordsmen quarterback Gabriel Castaneda struggled to get going early on, but settled down in the second half. He finished with two passing touchdowns, both to Orlando Zepeda. The offenses came alive second half and overtime with 56 points scored as both teams refused to quit. Despite having the lead going into halftime, Mendoza’s team was forced to play catch-up in the second half. “They were running the ball hard and coming up with some huge pass plays, which led to us trying to keep up with them,” Renteria said. Both teams exchanged quick touchdowns in the first overtime period, but a fumble by Nate Calderon in the second overtime period gave the Dons a chance to win the game. Renteria knew what he wanted as soon as Santa Barbara got the ball back “We knew we wanted to get my big behind in the end zone,” Renteria said. It has been a wild ride in Moschetti’s first season at the helm for St. Paul. A one-point loss to Bishop Amat, losing your starting quarterback and running back during the season, and beating St. Francis for the first time in 16 years. St. Paul’s season ends with a 5-6 record, but Moschetti said there are plenty of positives for the players to take away. “These kids were incredible, the school is incredible and the culture is incredible,” Moschetti said. “The double-overtime loss will haunt us for the rest of our lives,” Moschetti said. Santa Barbara moves onto the D5 quarterfinals as they face Corona Del Mar, a winner over Paraclete in the first round of the playoffs.