Complex sentence: In his junior year of 1971-72 Marlowe's Aztecs stepped into the spotlight as one of the nation's top teams, and along with the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, they were considered favorites to win the national championship.
Split into simpler sentences: In his junior year of 1971-72 Marlowe's Aztecs stepped into the spotlight as one of the nation's top teams. They and the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos were considered the two favorites to win the national championship.