Pacifica senior class clinches fourth straight league title with win at Rio Mesa

With its numbers dwindling during the COVID season in the spring of 2021, the Pacifica High football program returned to new wave of talent to fortify its roster.

Dayday Aupiu, Josh Joyner and Philip Kim were among the freshmen to make their varsity debuts during that short season for the then-reigning state champions.

Friday night at Rio Mesa, the Tritons’ Class of 2024 became the first class in school history to win four league championships.

“I couldn’t be more proud of this group,” Pacifica head coach Mike Moon said.

Joyner carried 11 times for 100 yards and a touchdown, Kim ran for 73 yards on 13 carries and Aupiu had 10 tackles and a key interception as Pacifica stayed unbeaten with a 28-3 win at Rio Mesa.

“It’s a great feeling being another team making history at Pacifica,” Aupiu said. “This is a new challenge that we’ve accomplished. … I’m happy to be (part of) that class that made it happen.”

More: Check out the winners from Week 9 of the high school football season

More: T.O. clinches share of Canyon League title; Moorpark, Newbury Park can do same next Friday

More: Week 9 prep football roundup: St. Bonaventure, Oaks Christian to play for Marmonte title

Junior Isaiah Dillon caught six passes for a season-high 210 yards and three touchdowns and junior Dominic Duran completed 10 of 12 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns as the Tritons improved to 9-0 for the second time in program history.

Pacifica can clinch the Channel League title outright by beating rival Oxnard on Friday to go 8-0 in league play.

Sidestepping and hurdling past defenders, Dillon scored on passes of 66, 25, and 87 yards to continue his breakout junior season. The transfer from Oxnard High has caught TD passes in six straight games, reeling in 12 scores over that span.

“He just needed to dig deep and reach into his potential,” Moon said. “We’ve been grinding on him as a coaching staff. Every week he’s getting better.”

Dillon’s performances have been especially important because of the absence of junior Savion Taylor, who suffered a knee injury against St. Bonaventure on Aug. 25.

“He’s a dude and without Sav, it was a great opportunity for him to really step up and be the guy,” Moon said. “And next year, we’ll have both of them.”

One of the best multi-sport athletes in Ventura County, Taylor, on crutches on the sidelines, confirmed that he will not return this season. He underwent ACL reconstruction surgery Tuesday in Ventura.

Taylor vowed to work hard throughout his rehabilitation to “get back and be myself.”

“He’s so locked in,” Moon said. “I know he’s going to do it.”

Pacifica was also without star defensive tackle Sonny Aina and linebacker Nick Lavizzo.

“It’s the next-man-up mentality and that’s what we’ve got,” Joyner said.

Despite drives into Pacifica territory on four of its first five possessions, including two red-zone trips, Rio Mesa (6-3, 4-3) was kept out of the end zone for first time in four years.

“I thought we played well the first half,” Rio Mesa coach Jim Bittner said. “I felt like we moved the ball pretty well, but we ran into the same difficulty in the red zone.”

The Spartans were stung by an injury to star senior Chance Harrison on the first play from scrimmage.

The teams’ first meeting since splitting showdowns in league and postseason play a year ago opened with two wild swings of momentum.

After senior Jordan Ambrose recovered a pooch kick on the opening kickoff, Rio Mesa opened with the ball on the Pacifica 24-yard line.

But Aupiu shot a gap to blow up Rio Mesa’s first offensive play. After being sacked on a double pass, Harrison was slow to regain his feet and did not return to the game.

“Losing Chance on the first play hurt,” Bittner said. “We have a lot of the offense based around him, and obviously defensively, too.”

Quarterback JJ Bittner converted a fourth-and-11 with a 13-yard pass to KeVonn Johnson, but the drive stalled at the Pacifica 12 and a 30-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide.

Three plays later, Dillon broke loose down the left sideline for a 66-yard catch and run to give Pacifica a 7-0 lead.

Rio Mesa responded with a nine-play scoring drive, briefly tying the game on Bittner’s 14-yard TD pass to Johnson. But the play was nullified by a penalty flag and the Spartans were forced to settle on a 24-yard field goal with 2:57 left in the first quarter.

“Getting the touchdown called back was tough,” Jim Bittner said.

Dillon’s 25-yard TD catch, sidestepping a defender along the sidelines in the process, put Pacifica ahead 14-3 on the first play of the second quarter.

After Tayvion Duplessis recovered a fumble to halt Pacifica on second-and-goal from the Rio Mesa 1, the Spartans had a second chance to get back into the game.

But Joyner’s 7-yard TD run in the third quarter and Dillon’s 77-yard catch and run in the fourth quarter put the game away.

J’Lin Wingo had 72 yards from scrimmage to lead Rio Mesa, including 61 yards on 11 carries. JJ Bittner completed 10 of 28 passes for 111 yards.

Despite the result, Jim Bittner still likes how Rio Mesa is positioned.

The fourth-place Spartans can clinch an automatic playoff berth by beating host Dos Pueblos this Friday.

“It is what it is,” Jim Bittner said. “We’ve got to beat Dos Pueblos and we’re in the playoffs and we can keep moving on.”

Jim Bittner expects Rio Mesa, which was ranked No. 93 in Cal Preps’ Southern Section ratings on Saturday, to be seeded in CIF-SS Division 6 or 7.

“Looking at Division 6, Division 7, all those games are winnable,” he said. “I think we can win five more games.”

The game was the final league contest between the two Oxnard schools for the foreseeable future. Pacifica is slated to join Camarillo, St. Bonaventure, Simi Valley, Oaks Christian and Bishop Diego in the Marmonte League next fall.

“To go from the team that couldn’t win a league title to the team that’s won four in a row and ended up getting pushed up to an upper league, it’s pretty awesome,” Moon said. “It’s pretty surreal.”

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Pacifica clinches fourth straight league title with win at Rio Mesa