Coast falls to Ventura, 34-14

COSTA MESA -- On "Guaranteed Pirates Victory" Night, the Orange Coast College Pirates came up short to the Ventura College Pirates, falling 34-14, on Saturday night at Dick Tucker Field.

On a night where the VC Pirates (3-0) jumped out to a 21-0 lead, the host Pirates (1-2) did their best to stay in the game, but several self-inflicted mistakes and stalled scoring drives proved too much to overcome.

Numerous dropped passes and false-start infractions minimized a substantial time-of-possession advantage for OCC (38:15 to 21:45) and allowed Ventura to slip out of newly named Dick Tucker Field with the win.

OCC running back Derrick Hunt ran for 101 yards in the first half before getting injured and not returning into the game for the second half. His status is uncertain for next week's matchup at Santa Monica (Saturday, 1 p.m. at SMC). 

Coast had the ball down inside VC territory throughout the night, but managed just 25% effeciency on third down (4-of-16) and fourth down (2-of-8) and was held to just one offensive touchdown the entire evening, despite 378 yards of total offense.

After an 11-play drive for Coast stalled on the VC 31-yard line to start the game, Ventura marched 39 yards on eight plays and grabbed a 7-0 lead after a 26-yard touchdown completion from quarterback Jake Luton to Cam Taylor. 

Coast punted on its next possession and Ventura used a six-play, 71-yard drive to make it 14-0 when Luton found the end zone on a 2-yard run.

After another OCC punt, Ventura used a 10-play, 60-yard drive to make it 21-0, thanks to a Luton TD pass to Kendrick Mallory.

From there the Coast defense tightened up and held the guests off the scoreboard for the next two quarters and slowly chipped into VC's lead.

Coast found some offensive success on its next drive and capped of a 13-play, 82-yard drive with a 5-yard TD run by quarterback James Harrelson.

Ventura drove down the field again, but was stopped short as Zoauntarrious Brunt picked off a Luton pass on the OCC 2-yard-line.

The hosts got inside Ventura's 40 on their next two drives, but came up with zero points as a pair of fourth-down attempts did not connect, keeping Ventura in front, 21-7, at the half.

The Coast defense found its way onto the scoreboard as Sharky Reza picked off a Luton pass and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown, trimming the deficit to 21-14

Twice more, the host Pirates marched into Ventura territory, only to be stopped on fourth down inside the VC 40-yard line before the guests capped off the scoring with a pair of touchdowns in the final quarter.

Luton finished with 179 yards passing and three touchdowns on 16-of-35 passing. Brian Burt led the VC ground game with 111 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, while Isaiah Brown added 99 yards on 11 carries.

For the OCC Pirates, Harrelson threw for 100 yards on 11-of-34 passing, while Burrell Walker and John Simon picked up the slack for the injured Hunt and combined for 130 yards on 29 carries.