Santa Monica, CA

September 18, 2025

Santa Monica College football opened its 2025 season with a statement — and then found an early-season gut check that tested the team's resilience moving forward.

Dominant Start: LA Southwest & Compton

The Corsairs looked unstoppable in their first two games. In the home opener, SMC rolled past LA Southwest 59-6, flashing a balanced attack and aggressive defense that forced multiple turnovers.

They kept the momentum going on the road at Compton, shutting out the Tartars 56-0. McKinzie Parks opened the scoring with a 1-yard run and Tyler Hanford converted the two-point try. The defense added points early when Matthew Arth returned a fumble 17 yards for a touchdown.

The offense took over from there:

• Dylan Franklin broke free for a 23-yard rushing score.
• Ashton Banks scored on a 1-yard run from QB Dylan Moreno.
• Christopher Washington added a 2-yard touchdown run.
• Moreno later connected with Isaiah Andrews for a 10-yard touchdown pass.
• Freddy Martinez capped the night with a 7-yard scoring run.

In all, Santa Monica racked up 75 offensive plays, 613 yards of offense, and 28 first downs while holding Compton to just 42 yards.

Road Test: Victor Valley

The first real test came a week later at Victor Valley, where the Corsairs fell 27-16. SMC struck first on a Moreno touchdown pass, then took a 10-6 lead when Jaidan Espadas drilled a 26-yard field goal. But Victor Valley's offense found rhythm in the third quarter, putting up 21 points.

Moreno connected again for a late touchdown, but the two-point conversion failed and Santa Monica couldn't close the gap.

Despite the loss, the defense kept the Rams to 443 yards — including limiting their fourth-down conversions to 0%.

Coach Kelly Ledwith reflected on the night:

"I'm proud of how we played, especially on defense. This is a pivotal moment in our season — we see where we need to improve, and we'll get better because of it."

Looking Ahead

Santa Monica is back home this week for a key matchup against Desert. Coach Kelly says the team had a focused week of practice, fine-tuning execution and building on what they learned from the Victor Valley game.

"We had a good week," Kelly said. "The guys are locked in, and we're excited to get back in front of our home crowd."