James, Thompson Lead Pirates Past Renegades

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. Zane Carter had 11 tackles defensively to lead the Pirate defense.

The Ventura offense, ranked No. 2 in the SCFA, was clicking on all cylinders early as they took the opening kick 72 yards on 12 plays for the opening score of the game. Irvin hit Eli Aragon from five yards out for the score, and Ryan Pimentel, who converted all five of his extra point kicks on the night, made it 7-0 early in the first quarter.

On the ensuing BC drive, a botched hand-off led to a fumble at midfield recovered by Ventura's Isaiah Garcia at the 50.

The Pirates took full advantage of the turnover, suing seven plays to reach paydirt on James' 9-yard touchdown run. VC led Bakersfield 14-0 with 5:58 left in the period.

The Renegades twice marched to the Pirate 20-yard line on their next two drives, only to be stopped on a pair of fourth down plays. 

Following the second stop, VC drove to the Bakersfield 11 before Pimentel nailed a 33-yard field goal to extend the lead to 17-0 with 6:41 remaining until halftime.

BC began to show some signs of life on the following possession, driving 65 yards in eight plays for their first touchdown at the 3:30 on the clock.

Following a Pirate turnover, Bakersfield scored again two minutes later to close to within 17-14 at halftime.

Ventura reestablished control following intermission. They held BC to a three-and-out to open the third quarter and promptly drove 60 yards in 14 plays for a score. James and Thompson combined for 34 yards rushing on the drive, and Irvin carried the ball for 11, including the final 2-yard touchdown run, and VC stretched the lead back to 10, 24-14.

Bakersfield answered with their own long drive, 70 yards on 15 plays over 6:29, but the Ventura defense held fast when it counted, stopping the Renegades three yards from the end zone. BC settled for a 20-yard chip-shot field goal.

On the ensuing kickoff, Jake Murphy had a 33-yard run back to set up the Pirates near midfield. Thompson then carried the ball for 48 of the 54 yards on the drive, setting up a quarterback sneak for Irvin as Ventura stretched the lead to 31-17 early in the final stanza.

The Renegades were limited to another field goal on the next possession before the Pirates put the game away on a 3-yard touchdown run by James with 4:34 remaining.

Overall, the Pirates racked up 325 yards on the ground with James rushing 164 yards on 21 carries with a score and Thompson adding 103 yards on 18 attempts. 

Irvin passed for 131 yards and a touchdown, completing 17 of 28 pass attempts. He also ran the ball nine times for 21 yards including two short trips to paydirt to punctuate long drives.

James led the receiving corps, as well, totaling 43 yards on three catches.

Defensively, Carter led the way and James Gillespie had seven tackles. Poi Aina and Ben Hall each totaled six stops.

Ventura, ranked No. 5 in Southern California, sits in control in the Northern Conference with a 5-0 mark while El Camino and Canyons are tied for second, each at 4-1. The Pirates will host ElCo on Saturday Nov. 3 before traveling to CoC for the regular season finale on Nov. 10. kickoff against the Warriors next Saturday is scheduled for 6:00 pm at the VC Sportsplex.