OCEANSIDE – The Ashston Barbour Show was playing at Simcox Field on Friday night, and the show's star was the 5-foot-10, 185-pound Carlsbad High senior defensive back and running back and kick returner.

Barbour rushed for a touchdown, caught a touchdown pass, and broke up three passes on defense, including one he intercepted, as the Lancers held off Saint Augustine 26-19 in a game that was not close until the final seconds.

Barbour had plenty of help from his teammates, but he was definitely the headliner. He played both ways last season but not as a starter. He was just happy to contribute this time in a home game played at Oceanside because his school's field has been condemned because of high levels of arsenic found in the soil.

“As a team, that doesn't really matter to us,” Barbour said. “We're tight-knit as a group. I think this is going to make us a lot closer.”

Carlsbad coach Bob McAllister said that Barbour already has offers from Navy and Air Force and plenty of other schools are starting to take a look.

“We have big plans for him this season,” McAllister said.

Bottled up for minus-6 yards on his first three carries, Barbour broke off a 52-yard touchdown run in the second period for a 9-0 lead.

St. Augustine cut the lead to 9-7 on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Ted Cercos to Dana Barbaro. Then the Lancers went back to work, going 78 yards in eight plays, with Barbour catching a 9-yard TD pass from Michael Leonard.

Barbour finished with a team-high 80 yards on just 10 carries, as the Lancers used several running backs in the second half to keep everyone fresh in a game filled with turnovers, penalties and leg cramps.

“We're happy to get a home win. We don't know where the next one's going to be,” McAllister said.

Leonard first left with a cut to the chin, then was one of the numerous players to leave with a leg cramp.

Carlsbad led 26-7 after a Leonard TD run and a field goal, but the Saints added two fourth-quarter scores, one with 4.9 seconds left on a Barbaro 8-yard pass from Daniel Hiser, who played the second half and seemed to give the Saints a spark.

“We were close in the final score, but we really didn't execute our offense to help the defense,” said Saints coach Jerry Ralph. “The defense really played really well.”