The Ventura College football team scored four rushing touchdowns while amassing 223 yards on the ground Saturday to defeat Antelope Valley 35-16 in Lancaster. Jaylen Thompson ran for 108 yards and a score while Lamonte James recorded 65 rushing yards on 13 carries in the Pirate victory.
The VC win, along with a loss by Canyons, left Ventura (5-2, 4-0), ranked No. 10/11 in the state, alone atop the Northern Conference standings with three games remaining.
Pirate quarterback Chris Irvin, who passed for 191 yards on the afternoon, answered an early Marauder field goal with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Drew Lopez at the 6:27 mark of the opening period. Ryan Pimentel, who made all five of his PAT kicks in the game, made it 7-3 for the Pirates.
Thompson broke free for a 49-yard scoring scamper midway through the second to give Ventura a little breathing room, 14-3.
On the next drive, a VC roughing the kicker penalty extended the Marauder possession, leading to a 50-yard pass and run to paydirt to pull AVC within 14-10 just over a minute later.
In the final minute of the half, Poi Aina intercepted an Antelope Valley pass, returning it to the Marauder 14, setting up Irvin's 14-yard touchdown run just before halftime. The Pirates took momentum into the locker room leading 21-10.
Antelope Valley tried to stay in the game with a touchdown midway through the third quarter, but VC answered with a 2-yard touchdown run by Ezekiel Savage II at the end of the stanza.
Ventura sealed the deal with Savage's 4-yard run late in the fourth quarter to set the final margin.
Irvin ended the day completing 19 of 31 passes for 191 yards, but had an uncharacteristic three interceptions. Eli Aragon was VC's leading receiver with seven catches for 68 yards while Drew Lopez grabbed five receptions for 48 yards and a score.
Defrensively, Aina had an interception and a fumble recovery, and James Gillespie totaled a team-high seven tackles. Anthony Albanez and Spencer McKelligon each totaled six stops.
The Pirates return home to face Bakersfield on Saturday Oct. 28. kickoff is slated for 6:00 pm at the VC Sportsplex.