Ventura College head football coach Steve Mooshagian is set to be inducted into the California Community College Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame at a banquet on Saturday March 9 in Visalia. Through 13 seasons at the helm of the Pirates, Mooshagian is the winningest coach in program history with an overall record of 101-40 with nine Southern California Football Association Northern Conference titles and the 2018 SCFA title. Mooshagian has been a part of California community college football since he played at Cerritos College in 1977.
A former Ventura College alumnus had a huge play during Super Bowl LVIII Sunday. Jaylen Watson '18, a former VC All-American defensive back who now plays for the Kansas City Chiefs, came up with one of the biggest plays in the Super Bowl, recovering a San Francisco 49ers fumble that led to a go-ahead score for Kansas City late in the third quarter.
Another stellar season came to a familiar end for the Pirates football team as Ventura dropped a 45-26 decision to Riverside in the Southern California Football Association championship game Saturday at the VC Sportsplex. Quarterback Chris Irvin passed for 327 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Eli Aragon, who totaled 116 yards on 14 catches in the game. Meanwhile, the Pirates' running game was held in check by the Tigers, who ended VC's season for the third straight year and the for the fourth time since 2014.
After a slow start, the Ventura College football team outscored previously undefeated Fullerton 27-14 over the final three quarters Saturday afternoon as the No. 3-seeded Pirates defeated No. 2 Fullerton 27-24 to advance to the Southern California Football Association championship game. Lamonte James had 255 yards from scrimmage, including 195 yards rushing with a pair of touchdowns, and Zane Carter ran an interception back for a touchdown in addition to a strong performance as VC's punter to lead the way.
For the third straight season, and the six th time in seven seasons, the Ventura College football team have qualified for the Southern California Football Association Final Four Playoffs. VC (7-3), the No. 3-seed as the champions of the Northern Conference, will travel to No. 2 Fullerton (10-0), winner of the Southern Conference for a noon kickoff on Saturday Nov. 25. In the other semifinal, No. 1 Mt. San Antonio (10-0) hosts No. 4 Riverside (9-1) at 6:00 pm.
Having already clinched a share of the Northern Conference title and secured a Southern California Football Association playoff berth, the Ventura College football team had a trap game at College of the Canyons Saturday. The Pirates fell into the trap, falling in a 21-19 decision to the Cougars, who were playing to secure a post-season bowl berth. VC's dynamic running back duo of Jaylen Thompson and Lamonte James combined for 240 yards rushing and all three touchdowns in the setback.
With the Northern Conference title on the line, the Pirate football team came from behind to defeat El Camino 21-20 Saturday night at the VC Sportsplex. Ventura quarterback Chris Irvin completed a 21-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Woodworth with 1:14 remaining in the game, and Ryan Pimentel provided the extra point for the winning margin against the Warriors. The win coupled with Canyons' loss at Bakersfield secured the conference crown and a playoff berth for VC with one game remaining in the regular season.
Pirate football's backfield duo of Lamonte James and Jaylen Thompson combined for 267 rushing yards and two touchdowns along with another 64 yards receiving, and quarterback Chris Irvin passed for one score and ran for two more as Ventura defeated Bakersfield 38-20 Saturday night at the VC Sportsplex. James ran for 167 yards and Thompson added another 103 as Ventura (6-2, 5-0) continued its unbeaten mark in Northern Conference play. Zan Carter had 11 tackles defensively to lead the Pirate defense.
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.
In a spirited contest that was more competitive than in recent years, the Pirate football team retained the Citrus Cup for the 15th straight season with a 52-35 win over Moorpark at Griffin Stadium Thursday night. VC scored 14 points in the first five minutes of the game and never trailed in their 34th win in the 55-game history of the Ventura County rivalry. Lamonte James and Jaylen Thompson each racked up over 100 yards rushing and Chris Irvin passed for 285 yards to lead Ventura (4-2, 3-0).
The 52nd edition of the Big Game turned out to be a big win for the state No. 18-ranked Pirate football team Saturday night. VC rang up 56 points on overmatched Santa Barbara for a 56-25 triumph to retain the traveling trophy for the eighth consecutive game and the 17th time in the last 18 meetings in the series that dates back to 1963. Spencer McKelligon led a strong defensive effort with 10 tackles, four solo, and quarterback Chris Irvin had his second straight 300-yard passing game for Ventura (3-2, 2-0).
Historically, it's almost never an easy game for the Pirate football team against Allan Hancock and Saturday was no different as Ventura outlasted the Bulldogs to claim a 32-28 win on the Northern Conference opener Saturday in Santa Maria. Chris Irvin had a solid day at quarterback with 307 passing yards and four touchdowns, including the game-winner to Eli Aragon with 4:26 remaining in the game. Lamonte James rushed for 120 yards and Aragon caught nine passes for 137 yards and two scores.
For the first 40 minutes of play Saturday, the Pirate football team was locked into a low-scoring battle with Cerritos. VC's touchdown with 4:03 remaining in the third quarter opened the floodgates, however, and the teams combined for six touchdowns and six lead changes in the final 20 minutes of Ventura's 35-31 setback to the Falcons. Eli Aragon had 184 receiveing yards on nine catches and Jaylen Thompson rushed for 97 yards on 11 carries in the game. Zane Carter led the defense with 10 tackles, seven solo.
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-raniked Mounties. Tyrus Malietufa led defense for VC, ranked No. 9/6, with eight tackles, two solo.
The VC football team came from behind in their 2023 season opener, defeating Saddleback 35-30 in Mission Viejo Saturday. The Pirates (1-0) trailed 20-9 late in the first half before outscoring the Bobcats 26-10 the rest of the way for the victory. Lamont James had 111 yards rushing with a touchdown while Daniel Duran threw for 195 yards and another score to lead Ventura. Tyrus Malietufa recorded nine tackles and an interception and Poi Aina picked up a pair of quarterback sacks defensively for VC.
Ventura College student athletes excelled once again in the classroom in 2022-23, achieving an overall 3.29 grade point average in the fall and following that up with a 3.19 overall GPA in the spring semester. A total of 108 Pirates achieved a 3.5 GPA or higher, earning mention on the Dean's List in the fall 2022 term while taking in 12 or more units of study, with 53 student athletes recording a perfect 4.0 GPA. In spring 2023, 110 VC student athletes were named on the Dean's List with 45 posting perfect GPA's.
Ventura College football coach Steve Mooshagian has announced 19 transfers from the 2022 SCFA Semifinalist Pirate football team, 13 of whom were mid-year transfers. Among the transfers and signees, 15 are moving on to NCAA Division I and four to NCAA Division II.
Ashlyn Flinchum and Jesse Valenzuela were named the Outstanding Sophomore Athletes for the 2022-23 year at the VC Athletics Hall of Fame and Student Athlete Recognition Banquet last month. Flinchum was an All-American pitcher for the Western State Conference champion VC softball team in the spring while Valenzuela earned All-American honors as a multipurpose back honors for VC's SCFA Northern Conference champion football team last fall.
Not even Jaylen Watson himself can believe the impact he has had an NFL rookie. Making his first NFL start, the former two-time All-American at Ventura College intercepted Justin Herbert and returned it for a touchdown on “Monday Night Football.” And now he’s set to become the first Ventura College alumni to play in a Super Bowl Sunday, when Kansas City faces Philadelphia in Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Arizona.
Ventura College football alumnus Jessie Lemonier '17 passed away Wednesday at the age of 25. The 2017 SCFA Northern Conference Defensive player of the year transferred from VC to Liberty University in Virginia before signing as an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020. He played six games with the Chargers that season and appeared in seven games with the Detroit Lions in 2021. No further details about Lemonier's death were given.
VC running back Jesse Valenzuela earned All-American honors as an all-purpose back as voted upon by the California Community College Football Coaches Association following the 2022 season. The first team All-SCFA honoree as an all-purpose back, kick returner and punt returner also headlined five Pirates on the region III All-State list.
Pirate running back Jesse Valenzuela was named first team-All Northern Conference for the Southern California Football Association in three positions, all-purpose, kick returner and punt returner, to lead seven Pirates named first team All-SCFA in voting by the conference coaches last month. Offensive lineman Caleb Barajas and wide receiver Tim Grear earned offensive nods to join Valenzuela while defensive lineman Jonah Rubadue, defensive end Angelo Jewell, defensive back Marquette Harris and punter LJ Harm also were named first team All-SCFA.
The VC football team went toe-to-toe with Top-ranked and undefeated Riverside Saturday in the Southern California Football Association semifinals, but three red zone turnovers quelled the Pirates' chances at an upset in their 47-33 playoff loss. Ventura's Most Valuable Player of the game Tim Grear had 121 receiving yards and two touchdowns while quarterback Samuel Marquez had 245 passing yards with three scores. JQ Brown gained 147 yards on the ground for Ventura (7-4) and James Tuayemie led the defense with 13 tackles.
Fresh off of rising above a six-way tie atop the Northern Conference entering the final week of the regular season to its third straight conference title, the Pirate football team is headed back to the Southern California Football Association playoffs. Ventura (7-3) has earned the No. 4-seed in the region and will travel to take on No. 1 Riverside (10-0) on Saturday Nov. 26 at San Bernardino Valley College with a 2:00 pm kickoff.
The Ventura College football team moved out to a lead early at East Los Angeles and held of the Huskies late 27-21 to clinch a share of their third straight SCFA Northern Conference title. Chris Reaves had 81 yards receiving on five catches with two touchdowns and Jessie Valenzuela rand the ball 13 times for 140 yards and a score to lead the Pirates (7-3, 3-2). Adrian Soracco and Drew Carter each recorded 11 tackles to lead the defense.
The VC football team jumped out to a 20-0 lead through one-plus quarters of play before holding off a second half charge by Canyons in the Pirates' 23-13 Northern Conference win at the Sportsplex Saturday night. The Pirate defense allowed just 190 yards, 63 on the ground, holding back the Cougars despite six Ventura turnovers in the contest. Adrian Soracco, Jalen Cooper and CJ Hodgdon led the defense with nine, eight and seven tackles, respectively, while VC quarterback Samuel Marquez passed for 266 yards and three touchdowns.
For several years now, the VC-Hancock football game has been decided in dramatic fashion. The 2022 edition of the rivalry lived up to the history as the Pirates scored two touchdowns in the final 2:23 of the game to defeat the Bulldogs 36-31 at the VC Sportsplex Saturday night. Samuel Marquez, the fourth VC quarterback to start a game this season, passed for 365 yards and three touchdowns to lead the effort and JQ Brown rushed for 97 yards and the game-winning score with 25 seconds remaining in the game.
The road is never easy, and Northern Conference play is no exception. The Pirate football team found the road a difficult place to play again on Saturday, dropping a 31-21 decision at Bakersfield. Reserve quarterback Samuel Marquez came on to pass for 143 yards and two touchdowns, JQ Brown ran for 69 yards and had another 25 receiving, and Jesse Valenzuela had 59 rushing yards with a score to lead the VC effort. Defensively, Jett Alldredge recorded 11 tackles and Adrian Soracco had nine. James Tuayemie and CJ Hodgdon each had eight stops.
Despite two lightening delays and a 23-0 deficit 20 minutes into the game, the Pirate football team had a chance in the end Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach. But as the rains returned at the end of the fourth quarter, VC's seven-game Northern Conference win streak washed away in their 33-26 setback against the Vikings. Tim Grear racked up 120 receiving yards and a touchdown, and Jesse Valenzuela totaled 126 yards overall with another score to lead Ventura (4-2, 0-1).
The quarterback shuffle continued for the Ventura College football team Saturday producing another victory in their final non-conference tilt. Ezekiel Savage II came in for the injured Nathaniel Frederick late in the first half and completed a 2-point conversion and a 58-yard touchdown pass on his first two throws to boost VC to a 42-37 win over Saddleback at the Sportsplex. Jesse Valenzuela had 269 combined yards, including 120 yards rushing with a score while CJ Hodgdon recorded 14 tackles defensively as the No. 10/9-ranked Pirates moved to 4-1 on the season.
Mooshagian to be Inducted to CCCFCA Hall of Fame
March 06, 2024Ventura College head football coach Steve Mooshagian is set to be inducted into the California Community College Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame at a banquet on Saturday March 9 in Visalia. Through 13 seasons at the helm of the Pirates, Mooshagian is the winningest coach in program history with an overall record of 101-40 with nine Southern California Football Association Northern Conference titles and the 2018 SCFA title. Mooshagian has been a part of California community college football since he played at Cerritos College in 1977.
