The Ventura College football team delivered its rivalry response in Santa Barbara.
One week after falling to Citrus Cup rival Moorpark College for the first time in 17 years, the Pirates tied the school record for points in a game and broke the school record for total offense in a 76-25 win over Big Game rival Santa Barbara City College on Sept. 26 at La Playa Stadium.
The 76 points tied the school record set against Santa Monica in 2022. The 861 yards of total offense tops the 769 rolled up against Santa Barbara last season.
“It was a bad time to play the Pirates,” Ventura head coach Steve Mooshagian said.
Mooshagian turned to Braden Graham as the Pirates’ primary quarterback and he completed 20 of 25 passes for 351 yards, five touchdowns and an interception.
LaRevious Woods ran for 142 yards and a TD on 20 carries as the Pirates piled up 464 yards and six TDs on the ground.
Amir McDowell flashed speed off the bench, running for 180 yards and two TDs on eight carries. Khy Harris added 91 yards and a TD on two carries.
“They have lights-out speed and it showed,” Mooshagian said. “That’s going to be a real plus for us.”
Safety Marcellus Brigham had a sack, an interception and a pass breakup to lead the VC defense. Sonny Aina (Pacifica High) had two sacks.
The win was VC’s 11th straight in the Big Game rivalry. It now leads the series, which dates back to 1963, 34-20-1.
“We’re getting there,” Mooshagian said. “It’s just taking a little bit longer than normal.”
VC lost to rival Moorpark 28-27 in overtime on Sept. 19.
“It was a week of mourning, for sure,” Mooshagian said. “It was humbling. But I give all the credit to them, because they did what they had to do.”
VC (3-2) improved to 1-1 in SCFA Northern Conference play. It will rest on a bye ahead of the Oct. 10 visit from Hancock.
Mount San Antonio College 44, Moorpark College 6
One week after their Citrus Cup upset, the Raiders were kept out of the end zone by No. 6-ranked Mt. SAC at Griffin Stadium on Sept. 26 and fell to 1-1 in SCFA Northern Conference play.
Kala Karratti’s field goals of 42 and 26 yards provided the only points as Moorpark was held to minus-11 yards rushing.
MC quarterback Sirawn Evans completed 29 of 35 passes for 207 yards and an interception.
Jusyis Solis ran for 101 yards and two TDs on eight carries and Malachi Jones ran for a 50-yard TD for first-place Mt. SAC (4-1), which took a 37-3 lead on Elijah Tehe’s 4-yard run 58 seconds into the second half.
Moorpark (1-4, 1-1) rests on a bye ahead of a visit by Santa Barbara City College on Oct. 8.
Cal Lutheran University 40, University of Redlands 14
Tied 14-14 in the third quarter, the Kingsmen scored 26 unanswered points over the final 17 minutes to win the Smudge Pot rivalry game for the second time in three meetings.
Quarterback Joe Farley completed 16 of 26 passes for 260 yards, two TDs and an interception and ran for a score for CLU, which improved to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the SCIAC.
Tyler Woodworth (Ventura High) caught five passes for 117 yards and a 35-yard TD, which gave CLU a 20-14 lead with 1:33 left in the fourth quarter.
John Gilbert and Brandon Treggs ran for TDs and TeNorris Merkel caught a TD pass for CLU
Blake Hurley recovered two fumbles and Josiah Allen had an interception to lead the Kingsmen defense. Hurley and Drew Nees had sacks and Logan Bowers forced a fumble.
CLU (2-1, 1-0) visits Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Oct. 3.
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: Ventura College responds with record-setting Big Game performance
