The Pirate football team got bit by the turnover bug, bad. VC had four interceptions and two fumbles lost leading to 24 Cougar points in the fourth-ranked Pirates' 31-7 loss at No. 3 College of the Canyons Saturday in Santa Clarita. Running back Thomas Duckett managed to gain 103 yards on 17 carries and quarterback Brock Domann had 43 yards on eight caries with a touchdown. But the giveaways were too much for VC (6-2, 2-1) to overcome ending a 17-game conference winning streak dating back to 2015.
The troubles started early for the Pirates as they fumbled the opening kickoff return, giving Canyons a short field to work with to begin the day. The VC defense held fast, however, limiting the Cougars to a field goal on the opening possession.
Lavan Alston's 77-yard return on the ensuing kickoff set the Pirates up in Cougar territory, but two players later, their plans were derailed by the first of four pass interceptions. CoC took advantage of the Ventura giveaway, scoring a touchdown on a 56-yard pass play three snaps later for a 10-0 lead barely four minutes into the game.
The Pirates seemed to right the ship on the next drive, marching 70 yards down the field in 18 plays to the CoC 11-yard line. A Pirate interception at the goal line halted the drive, however, and VC remained down 10 points.
Midway through the second period, VC showed some signs of life. After winning the field position battle with the Cougars, Domann engineered a 7-play, 49-yard drive, capping it by calling his own number on a 6-yard scoring run. Kyle Continente's kick narrowed the gap to 10-7 with 6:02 left in the first half.
Canyons had an answer, however, driving 60 yards in eight plays to restore their 10-point advantage, 17-7.
After stopping the Cougars on the first possession of the second half, the Pirates had another pass picked off just three plays into their first drive of the second half. CoC took advantage of the miscue once again, scoring a touchdown on the 31-yard drive to the end zone on a fourth down play from the 1-yard line for a 24-7 score.
Early in the final period, Jaylen Watson gave the Pirates some life with an interception, giving VC a short field to work with, but a fumble at the goal line halted the Ventura momentum once again.
Canyons came back with a 14-play, 98-yard drive that chewed up over eight minutes of the clock, taking a 31-7 lead with just 3:40 remaining in the game.
The Canyons defense proved to be a stout opponent for the Pirates, limiting VC to 247 yard total offense, including just 86 through the air.
The Pirates look to rebound quickly as they travel to East Los Angeles College on Saturday Nov. 3. The game against the Huskies is slated to kick off at 6:00 pm. VC returns home for their regular-season finale on Saturday Nov. 10 against Long Beach.