17 Pirates Honored on Football All-Conference Teams

A record breaking season for the Ventura College football team produced 17 all-northern conference selections. This was the most of any team in the Northern division and were joined by five honorable mention selections.The honors were highlighted by six Pirates receiving first-team All-Northern Conference Offensive honors including record breaking quarterback Ty Gangi and 1,000 yard rusher Chris Beeson.

VC Pirate football in 2015 will be remembered not just for their back-to-back conference championsihps, but also for their record breaking offensive numbers. Freshman quarterback Gangi was named as the first-team quarterback. Gangi's top targets in the receiving game sophomore tight end Austin Blake-Smith and freshmen Cam Taylor both were selected as first-team selections. Sophomore running back Chris Beeson who became the first 1,000 yard rusher under head coach Steve Mooshagian was selected as the first-team all purpose player for his contributions on the ground and through the passing game. Ventura's success on offense was made possible by a pair of dominant tackles who both found themselves on the first-team in sophomore Tyson Rising and freshman Jake Colman who provided Gangi protection to run the aerial attack and break open the holes for Beeson to grind it out on the ground. 

The offensive honors were not limited to just the first-team, as two Pirates were selected for second-team honors. Freshman wide receiver Nick Rodriguez picked up second-team honors and he was joined by fresmen offensive linemen Josh Mantle. Two more VC offensive players were placed on the honorable mention all-conference teams with wide receiver sophomore Riley Smith and sophomore offensive linemen Evan Roth.

Ventura didn't just put up points offensively, but their special teams produced electric plays and consistent performance and was well rewarded on the all-northern conference teams. Sophomore kicker Jake Lanski was picked as a first-team All-Northern honoree. On the second-team VC placed sophomore punter Dayton Diorio and sophomore kick return specialist Jordan Nunnery. Sophomore Ronald Washington picked honorable mention honors for his work as a kick return specialist.

With 13 members of the Pirates picking up honors for their work on offense or special teams, the VC defense was well represented as well. On the first-team, a pair of Ventura defensive linemen were honored with sophomore Tre Haynes and freshman Mark Zavala. Ventura was more prevalent on the second-team defense with freshman linebacker Grant Bouma, freshman cornerback Devonte Smith, freshman Britto Tutt and sophomore saftey Malcolm Williams each receiving honors. Two more Pirates picked up honorable mention honors for their work on defense with freshman defensive linemen Iyah Weir-Soley and freshman defensive linemen Charles Franklin being honored.