The VC football team had its hands full Saturday in their 65-24 setback to Mt. San Antonio in the Pirates' 2023 home opener at the Sportsplex. Daniel Duran passed for 149 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Jaylen Thompson had 112 yards of total offense, 77 rushing to lead the Ventura effort against the No. 4/3-ranked Mounties. Tyrus Malietufa led defense for VC, ranked No. 9/6, with eight tackles, two solo.
It was a slugfest early as the two heavyweights of the SCFA went toe-to-toe. After Mt. SAC scored on their opening drive of the game it took the Pirates less than a minute to answer with a screen pass from Duran to Jaron Glenn that went 37 yards to the end zone. Ryan Pimentel's kick evened the score at 7-7 less than three minutes into play.
The Mounties responded quickly, driving 53 yards in 10 plays, finishing with a 36-yard field goal.
Ventura took over and drove 73 yards in 13 plays, aided by a pair of 15-yard Mt. SAC penalties, finishing at the Mountie 2-yard line. Unable to get the ball to paydirt, VC settled for a successful 19-yard field goal from Pimentel to knot the score at 10 with 5:01 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Mounties took over at that point, scoring 14 unanswered points and holding the Pirates scoreless in both the second and third periods.
When Ventura made their way back to the end zone on a 4-yard pass from Duran to Cody Hoffman early in the final stanza, Mt. SAC led VC 51-17.
VC added one more score in the fourth quarter, a 1-yard touchdown pass from Chris Irvin to Kamron Moreno to settle the final margin.
Duran completed 17 of 29 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns and Irvin wass 9-14 for 137 yards and a score. Lamonte James had 11 carries for 43 yards in the contest.
Fakhir Stewart and Anthony Albanez each recorded seven tackles and Ben Hall had six.
Ventura will look to turn things around at home next week, Saturday Sept. 16, against Cerritos in their final non-conference game. Kickoff with the Falcons is scheduled for 6:00 pm at the Sportsplex.