After six games it/s time for midseason evaluation of Don Cross/ Cabrillo Conquistadores football team.

The team is 5-1 overall and is ranked No. 2 in CIF/s Div. X.

&#8220We/re 2-0 in league and we/ve beaten the people we/re supposed to beat,C said a satisfied Cross Wednesday. &#8220We/ve won some close ones. I/m just proud of the way we/ve performed.

&#8220Four wins get us into CIF. If we can get No. 3 (Friday night at Morro Bay) and No. 4 (the following week at home vs. Nipomo) then we can roll the dice and go for all the marbles in league.C

Against Santa Maria last Friday Cross was pleased.

&#8220We were pretty consistent and that was nice to see. The big play was the one before halftime.C

On that play quarterback Brian Gregory found Darnell Womack wide open behind the Saint defensive backs. The pass carried for 82 yards and a touchdown to put the Conqs ahead by two touchdowns.

Womack credited downfield blocking for his success.

&#8220The line was the key,C the senior wingback said Monday at the North Santa Barbara County Athletic Round Table.

&#8220They stuck with their blocks and hit people downfield.C

Womack identified guard Josh Sanders and tight end Jeremy Pohlman as key downfield blockers on his long jaunt.

&#8220Our offense,C Cross exclaimed. &#8220Vai (Taua) went out and had a quiet game. Nobody got caught up in the fact he had four touchdowns. They/re so excited, we were practicing Monday in the rain.C

The Conq offense has scored 33, 35 and 42 points the last three games and Taua, the marquee back, has racked up 804 yards over six games.

The Conq defense gave up late scores to Atascadero in the team/s only loss two weeks ago but showed its strength and its smarts last week.

Without leading tackler Steve De St. Jean, who was injured late in the Atascadero game, the Conqs allowed two touchdowns early to Santa Maria.

No worry. They simply adjusted.

Sanders, a key element in the middle of the Conq defensive wall, was trapped effectively in the first half.

At intermission, defensive coach Mike Regan suggested a change in Sanders/ approach to big Rodrigo Villa, the Saints/ 6-3 255-pound tackle.

&#8220Instead of using my left forearm, I just rotated my body and hit him with my right shoulder with all my force,C Sanders, a 205-pounder, said Monday.

Santa Maria did not score again and Sanders chalked up a whopping 14 tackles.

With De St. Jean in civvies on the sideline, his fullback chores fell to Colby McKissack.

&#8220Colby was doing a fine job blocking and he didn/t wear down,C said Cross. &#8220He showed me he can handle the job.C

McKissack is normally the backup fullback and fulltime outside linebacker. Friday night he was the main man at both spots.

&#8220I didn/t realize he had 16 tackles,C Cross continued. &#8220That/s a ridiculous number of tackles. That/s insane. He was all over the field.C

Another, newer, name Cross mentioned was that of sophomore Greg Watson who rushed three times for 58 yards.

Called up from the JV team prior to the contest, the youngster reeled off runs of 20, nine and 29 yards.

&#8220He/s ready,C said Cross. &#8220Six or eight of our plays he knows real well, with no hesitation. He/ll definitely carry the ball. He/s probably our fastest guy.C

Morro Bay (1-1 in league and 3-2 overall) is ranked No. 8 by CIF but was crunched by Lompoc 41-0 two weeks ago. Last Friday the Pirates stopped Nipomo 27-18.

&#8220Their quarterback, Crizer, he scares me,C Cross insisted. &#8220And they/ll be fired up. If they beat us, the worst they/ll finish is second.C

Game time at Morro Bay is 7:30 p.m. The contest will not be broadcast.

Notes: Conquistador statistics show Taua to be the leading ground gainer and also leading receiver with seven catches for 113 yards. On defense McKissack leads with 57 tackles, followed by De St. Jean with 51 in five games, Sanders with 38 and defensive back Troy Deleissegues with 37. Punter Casey Belluz sports a 41.2 yard average. Seventy percent of his kickoffs have gone into the end zone to preclude runback. The Lompoc Braves have the weekend off. They return to action next Friday night, Oct. 28, with a game at St. Joseph.

Sports writer John McReynolds can be reached at 736-2313, Ext. 106, or jmcreynolds@lompocrecord.com