With first place on the line in the Channel League, the 1-yard line was the longest yard.
Both Westlake and Ventura were turned away at the 1-yard line during a stalemate that lasted nearly three quarters on Friday, Oct. 16, at Larrabee Stadium.
Westlake scored three touchdowns in six minutes to grab sole possession of first place with a 21-3 road win.
“We didn’t make any halftime adjustments,” Westlake coach Rick Clausen said. “It was just, ‘Execute.’ ”
Freshman Hendrix Tucker threw touchdown passes to Erik Green and Charles Davis and Green returned an interception for a score as the Warriors turned a three-point deficit into a 21-3 lead with 9:43 to play.
“We didn’t play our best game,” Clausen said. “They did some things defensively to limit the
pass game, and we didn’t adjust very well. Back to the drawing board. Got to get better and continue to get better because tonight we were not good enough in all phases.”
Now 3-0 in the Channel League, Westlake (7-1) travels to Santa Barbara this Friday, while Ventura (6-2, 2-1) will visit Moorpark.
Playing without star Tristan Savage, who did not finish the Cougars’ 24-21 win over Santa Barbara on Oct. 9, Ventura moved the ball methodically against Westlake’s defense.
The problem was finishing drives without one of the most productive players in the CIF-Southern Section.
The Cougars came up empty on trips to the Westlake 9- and 1-yard lines in the first half, and settled for a 24-yard Blake Wellik field goal after being stopped on third-and-1 from the Westlake 7 with 5:35 left in the third quarter.
“Offensively, we were trying to find a rhythm,” Ventura head coach Tim Garcia said. “We have guys who are filling in at different positions, so you lose that rhythm that you’re used to.”
Savage, the Ventura County leader with 19 TDs and 114 points — and second in receiving and total offense — entering Week 8, was in uniform, but did not see the field.
“Tristan came out to warm up just a little bit,” Garcia said coyly.
After Westlake took the opening kickoff and turned the ball over on downs on the Ventura 1, the Warriors defense returned the favor.
Westlake safety Jake Tweten stopped a Cougars’ drive to the Westlake 9 with an end-zone interception on third-and-goal on the second play of the second quarter.
“My team had everyone covered and I was just there,” Tweten said. “He threw it to the receiver I was covering and I just got the pick.”
On its next possession, Ventura drove 58 yards in 11 plays before the march ended with an incomplete pass on fourth-and-goal at the Westlake 1 with 2:27 left in the second quarter.
“We did have some opportunities that we (threw) away,” Garcia said. “When that happens on top of trying to find a rhythm, it makes everything that much heavier.”
Wellik’s field goal, which broke the scoreless deadlock with 3:47 left in the third quarter, was set up by Evan McHenry’s fumble recovery on the Westlake 14.
Westlake responded by grabbing its first lead on Green’s 11-yard TD catch, set up by Davis’ 52-yard post pattern, with 3:47 left in the third quarter.
“The first three quarters, we were a little shaky,” Davis said. “We had a very good fourth quarter.”
Trying to make something happen early in the fourth quarter, Ventura had a fake punt fail near midfield and was punished by the Warriors, who scored twice eight seconds apart to break open the game.
“The defense held the entire team together up until we had the fourth-down fake on the punt that we didn’t get,” Garcia said.
Moments after Tucker found Davis for a 30-yard scoring strike, Green stepped in front a short pass and returned it 25 yards for the dagger.
Westlake held Ventura to 236 yards of total offense, including 97 yards rushing on 31 carries. Gavin Scarlett completed 11 of 25 passes for 139 yards and two interceptions.
“I’m proud of the way that our defense came out in battled,” Garcia said. “This game does not define us. We know what we’ve got coming. We know what we want to do. We know how we want this to play out and we’re still on target for that.”
Without its two offensive stars, Savage and running back James Watson, who has been missing since August with a broken leg, Ventura turned to junior tight end Jaddyn Delorenzo, who caught seven passes for 95 yards.
“He’s putting more on his shoulders,” Garcia said. “He was the featured guy tonight and stepped up and took on that responsibility.”
Tucker was efficient for Westlake, completing 14 of 16 passes for 161 yards and two TDs. He did not throw an incompletion after the first drive.
Davis caught five passes for 114 yards and a TD. Speedy Jackson Griffin carried 11 times for 71 yards on the ground.
Joe Curley covers football for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcspreps on Twitter/X, Instagram/Threads, Facebook, Bluesky and TikTok.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Late Westlake flurry ends Channel League stalemate at Ventura
