Dillon helps Pacifica football team beat Ventura, go to 7-0 on the season
Isaiah Dillon didn't just want to be one of the Channel League's best receivers.
"My goal was to the (league's) Receiver of the Year," said the Pacifica High junior.
With three games left in the regular season, Dillon widens the gap between his closest league pass catchers every game.
Three TD catches in Pacifica's 28-14 home win over Ventura on Friday night gave Dillon 11 in the last four games, including a county-record tying five against San Marcos.
The 7-0 start for Pacifica (7-0, 5-0) is the second-longest winning streak to start a season in program history.
"I wasn't even in the conversation (for the league's top honor) last year," said Dillon of his sophomore season at Oxnard.
More: Check out the winners from Week 6 of the high school football season
More: Midseason report: The Star ranks the area's top 75 high school football players
To help his transfer achieve his goal, Pacifica coach Mike Moon challenged Dillon.
"He is learning to be competitive every second of every play," said Moon. "We're teaching him the ins and outs of being great. He is just scratching the surface."
Not great news for upcoming opposing defensive backs.
Dillon had eight catches for 102 yards and TDs of 3, 9 and 49 yards. Quarterback Dominic Duran completed 14 of 19 passes for 155 yards.
Josh Joyner returned the opening kick of the second half 82 yards for a TD to give Pacifica a 21-0 lead.
Ventura's change in offensive strategy made things difficult for Pacifica,
Unlike its first six games when it averaged nearly 30 passes per game, 17 of Ventura's first 22 plays were rushes.
Ventura (4-3, 3-2) drove to the Pacifica 24 on its first possession, coming up empty on a missed 41-yard field-goal attempt.
On its next drive, Ventura planted itself on the Pacifica 1. On fourth down, Pacifica's JuJu Hernandez tackled the ball carrier for a 3-yard loss.
"We did everything we wanted to do on the first two series," said Ventura coach Tim Garcia. "We kept their offense off the field. We ran the ball well enough to chew up the clock and got ourselves in a great place to finish. We just couldn't finish."
Helped in part by three pass interference calls on the Ventura defense, Pacifica drove 96 yards, capped by the 3-yard Duran to Dillon TD pass.
"To me, that was the turning point of the game," said Moon. "We make a goal-line stand and then make a drive. If you can do that, you should win no matter who you play."
Pacifica's next possession ended with a Zayne McCulley interception.
With only 57.8 seconds left on the clock, it appeared the half would end with Pacifica leading 7-0.
Two pass interference calls and an unsportsmanlike penalty moved the ball to the Ventura 9-yard line. Two plays later, Dillon scored his second touchdown.
"The PIs, I can understand," said Garcia. "We lost our composure. You can't do that against a team that is well-disciplined."
Garcia's son, Derek, was handed the Ventura offense at quarterback.
He led them on TD drives of 69 and 41 yards. Joshua Woodworth caught a 20-yard TD pass in the third quarter and Bronson Seiler scored on a 1-yard pass in the fourth.
Sawyer Cline rushed for 59 yards on 18 carries for Ventura.
Next Friday, Pacifica will be at home against Channel Islands and Ventura will travel to San Marcos in league games.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Dillon helps Pacifica football team beat Ventura, go to 7-0 on the season
