Pirates Falter Late in OT Loss at El Camino

The Pirate football team had Northern Conference-leading El Camino right where they wanted them, until they didn't. A pair of late VC turnovers helped lead to a 28-0 Warrior run in the second half as Ventura, who rallied to force overtime, could not turn back the tide in their 45-38 setback Saturday. Daniel Duran passed for 365 yards and four touchdowns, and Quran Gossett ran for another 105 yards to lead the Pirates (6-3, 4-2). Jayon Farrar totaled 95 yards receiving and 109 kick return yards for Ventura.

The game got off to a solid start for the Pirates as the defense forced a three-and-out before the offense drove 54 yards on eight plays to score a touchdown. Duran completed a pass to Silas Kemp for 17 yards to punctuate the drive and Ryan Pimentel's kick made it 7-0 less than four minutes into the game.

El Camino answered with a touchdown late in the first quarter before Pimentel's 26-yard field goal put VC ahead 10-3 early in the second.

The Warriors then tied the score on their next possession with an 18-yard field goal.

Pirate defensive back Shahid Wilson intercepted an El Camino pass midway through the second quarter, bringing the ball back to the Warriors' 28-yard line. Five plays later the Pirates capitalized on the turnover with an 11-yard scoring pass from Duran to Jake Murphy. The PAT kick failed and VC led 16-10.

After another three-and-out forced by the Pirate defense, The Pirates drove 75 yards in five plays, culminating in a 19-yard touchdown pass from Duran to Farrar. Duran passed to Elijah Davis for the 2-point conversion and Ventura took a 24-10 lead into intermission.

VC overcame an early interception in the third quarter as El Camino missed a 42-yard field goal. The Pirate offense then took over and drove 75 yards in 10 plays to paydirt. Duran's eight-yard pass to Josh Washington finished the drive and Pimentel's kick put Ventura ahead 31-10 with 7:13 remaining in the third stanza. seemingly, the Pirates had the Warriors right where they wanted them. Until they didn't.

El Camino took little time to get back on the board, scoring a touchdown two minutes later to pull to within 31-17.

The Pirates seemingly had an answer, taking nearly six minutes to drive back down the field before Pimentel's 30-yard field goal missed wide left early in the final quarter.

The Warriors took over and scored another touchdown with 11:32 left in regulation time to pull to within a touchdown, 31-24.

The wheels then fell off for the Pirates as a fumble two plays into the next drive gave the ball back to El Camino with a short field.  They wasted little time in scoring the game-tying touchdown three plays later.

Farrar returned the ensuing kickoff 37 yards to give VC solid field possession as they looked to retake control. An interception three plays later, confirmed the Warriors control as they scored the go-ahead touchdown with 3:54 remaining on the clock.

The Pirates could have easily folded at that point, but instead chose to stay and fight. VC took 18 plays to drive 76 yards with Duran finding the end zone on a one-yard run with 11 seconds left. Pimentel's kick tied the game, sending the teams to extra time.

After winning the toss and choosing to go on defense, Ventura nearly stopped the Warriors twice. El Camino converted a third-and-three and was stopped on a third-and-one before scoring a three-yard touchdown on fourth down.

On the ensuing possession the Pirates made it to the Warrior 4-yard line, but could not find the end zone to set the unfavorable result.

Duran was 37-59 in the air for Ventura for 365 yards and four touchdowns. Gossett had 23 rushing attempts for 105 yards. Farrar led eight different receivers with a catch, totaling eight receptions for 95 yards. Tyler Woodworth had four catches for 73 yards and Kemp caught six passes for 72 yards and a score. Reese Thompson led the Pirate defense with 12 tackles, nine solo, and Brayden Beck and Zane Carter totaled 11 and 10 stops, respectively.

Ventura will close the regular season on Saturday Nov. 16 with a home game against College of the Canyons. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 pm.