Duran helps Pacifica take down St. Bonaventure in county football showdown

Lorenzo Booker prowled the visiting sideline. Ronney Jenkins and Josh Joyner were on the field before and during play, respectively.

They all had a good view as Pacifica High quarterback Dominic Duran delivered a touchdown run through traffic worthy of an elite running back Friday night in Oxnard.

“He looked like Lamar Jackson,” Joyner said of his quarterback. “Two cuts? That was cold! That boy has sweet feet.”

The moment of sweetness helped the Pacifica football team erase two years of sour memories as the Tritons snapped St. Bonaventure’s 10-game winning streak against Ventura County opposition.

Duran completed 13 of 21 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown and also rushed for two TDs as Pacifica scored three times in the first quarter and held off visiting St. Bonaventure for a 24-13 win in a showdown of The Star’s No. 1- and No. 2-ranked teams.

“It felt good to win that, but we can’t let it get to our head,” Duran said. “It’s just one stepping stone to our goal.”

Joyner had 114 yards from scrimmage, including a 36-yard TD catch, and senior running back Philip Kim rushed for 125 yards on 16 carries as Pacifica (2-0) impressed on both sides of the line against the powerful Seraphs.

“I’m proud of our guys for minimizing what they were doing in the box,” Pacifica coach Mike Moon said. “I couldn’t be more proud of our front, our (offensive) line and (defensive) line. They’re huge up front.”

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The result snapped the Seraphs’ 10-game winning streak against county opposition, dating back to the 40-13 loss at Oxnard in the 2019 CIF-Southern Section Division 5 playoffs.

The streak included a 70-7 win at Pacifica in 2021 and last year’s 46-41 win over the Tritons at Ventura College.

“It was relieving, very relieving,” said senior safety Dayday Aupiu, who forced a fumble and snagged the game-clinching interception with 2:12 to play. “There was a lot of stress on this game. Everybody had something to play for.”

With starting quarterback Anthony Wolter out with a broken collarbone, sophomore Kaden Glover made his first varsity start for St. Bonaventure (1-1). He completed 11 of 20 passes for 129 yards and an interception. He also ran for 51 yards.

The Seraphs offense was boosted by the addition of receiver DJ Doss. The transfer from Antelope Valley High, who is committed to Washington State, caught seven passes for 75 yards.

Koen Glover ran for 68 yards on 13 carries and David Montes had 54 yards on five carries as St. Bonaventure finished with 180 yards rushing.

But Pacifica was able to limit the damage by forcing two turnovers and recovering a surprise onsides kick.

“Hats off to them,” St. Bonaventure coach Joey Goyeneche said. “They’re a really good football team. It’s exciting to battle with them. We want to be the top team in the county, but this is a matchup that’s not going anywhere.

“They started fast and jumped on us. … It stings. But we’re not going anywhere. It’s one loss. Our goals are still the same. We can’t let one loss turn into two.”

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Before a near-capacity crowd of 5,000, the fireworks started from the third snap. Duran found Isaiah Dillon over the middle for a 62-yard gain, which set up a 9-yard Duran TD run 61 seconds into play.

“I saw the safety roll to the right, so I knew that I’d have Isaiah off his break,” Duran said. “I just had to get it there on time and he did the rest.”

St. Bonaventure answered with a 12-play scoring drive, converting a fourth-and-1 and third-and-8. Kaden Glover’s 1-yard sneak pulled the Seraphs even, 7-7, with 5:03 left in the first quarter.

The Tritons used Brudder Aina’s recovery of a surprise onside kick to leap ahead 21-7.

Duran’s 36-yard scoring strike to Joyner was set up by a 26-yard pass to Vernon Bell, which converted a third-and-6. Duran’s mazy 12-yard TD run through the teeth of the Seraphs defense made it 21-7 with 1:27 left in the first quarter.

Pacifica had three chances to put the game away, but St. Bonaventure hung around, much like it during last year’s come-from-behind win.

Pacifica moved inside the St. Bonaventure 10 after Nick Lavizzo’s second-quarter fumble recovery, but a holding flag pushed them back and Duran’s deflected pass was intercepted by a diving Drew Cofield in the end zone.

The Tritons reached the St. Bonaventure 21 later in the half, but a personal foul flag moved them out of field-goal range.

“When we watch the film, we’re going to realize we made a lot of mental mistakes,” Duran said. “We can’t get these dumb flags.”

It looked like the third time might be the charm for Pacifica when Duran’s 22-yard slant to Aupiu converted a third-and-22 into Seraphs territory in the third quarter. But that drive stalled as well.

“I think our defense played very well overall,” Goyeneche said. “It was just the quick start. We held them to three points in the second half.”

St. Bonaventure used an 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive to pull within 21-13 on Koen Glover’s 3-yard TD run on the final play of the third quarter.

The drive consisted of 11 runs and Kaden Glover’s 17-yard play-action strike to Jaden Few on fourth-and-2.

“We were able to slow down their run and force them to drive the length of the field,” Moon said. “We had enough of a lead that we could play that way.”

Pacifica answered with a 12-play drive powered by Joyner and Kim and capped by a 27-yard field goal by senior Jesus Soto with 6:31 to play.

The Tritons knew the game was in doubt until Aupiu's interception with 2:12 left.

“Right when he threw it," Aupiu said. "I was like ‘I need it.’ ”

Joe Curley covers high school, collegiate and professional football for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcspreps on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Duran helps Pacifica take down St. Bonaventure in county showdown