Ventura College football falls to Riverside again in the Southern California title game

Another long run by the Ventura College football team was stopped by an all-too familiar obstacle.

The Pirates fell to Riverside College in the Southern California championship game for the third time in school history, 45-26, Saturday afternoon at the VC Sportsplex.

“It stings a little, but it was a hell of a year,” Ventura College head coach Steve Mooshagian said. “That’s a good football team.”

The SCFA Northern Conference champion Pirates finished their season 8-4.

VC dropped to 1-4 all-time in the regional title game, including losses to Riverside in 1935, 2021 and 2023.

It was the fourth time the two teams have met for the regional championship. VC beat Riverside when it made its lone run to the state title game in 2018.

Riverside quarterback Jordan Barton completed 22 of 28 passes for 296 yards and three touchdowns to earn the game’s Most Valuable Player award. He was also the quarterback when Riverside beat VC 42-21 in the 2021 regional final.

“I told him I was going to have to take a job where he (transfers),” Mooshagian said, “so I can have another shot beating at him.”

Riverside (11-1) will host defending state champion College of San Mateo this Saturday in the CCCAA state championship game. It is a rematch of last year’s game, won by San Mateo 55-0.

San Mateo edged American River College, 30-27, in the Northern California title game.

“That’s going to be a great game,” Mooshagian said, “as much as I want to see it be Ventura against American River.”

Receiver Eli Aragon, an Oxnard High graduate, had 14 catches for 116 yards and two TDs to earn VC’s Most Outstanding Player Award.

“It’s a blessing to have the team rely on me to make big plays,” Aragon said. “I love this city. I love the game. It’s a tough loss, but we’ve got to learn from it.”

VC quarterback Chris Irvin completed 36 of 50 passes for 327 yards, two TDs and two interceptions.

The Pirates powered into the game via their first pair of 1,000-yard runners, but Riverside was able to keep Lamonte James (10 carries, 22 yards) and Jaylen Thompson (17 carries, 57 yards) under control.

“They did a good job on both sides up front,” Mooshagian said of Riverside. “The lack of depth that we have up front caught up to us.”

Instead, the Riverside running tandem of Bryce Strong (24 carries, 158 yards) and Ayinde Bankole (15 carries, 103 yards, three TDs) carried the day.

Riverside took a 7-0 lead on Bankole's 6-yard TD run, which was set up by Kavon Baptiste’s interception over the middle on the game’s fifth play.

VC responded with a 12-play, 75-yard drive. Irvin hits Caleb Avery (Simi Valley High) for 17 yards and Aragon for 13 yards. His 6-yard pass to Drew Lopez (Hueneme High) sets up a 3-yard TD run by Ezekiel Savage, which tied the game with 7:34 left in the first quarter.

Riverside built a 17-7 lead on Barton’s 50-yard TD pass to Jesse Campbell and a 28-yard Gabe Panikowski field goal.

VC drove 70 yards in 12 plays just before halftime, earning three late cracks at the end zone. But receiver Teandre Newcombe’s reverse pass in the end zone was broken up and the Pirates had to settle for a 20-yard Ryan Pimental field goal to pull within 17-10 at the half.

“I don’t know if there was a bunch of plays that we wanted back, but when you kick field goals versus score touchdowns that can make the difference in a ballgame,” Mooshagian said.

Riverside took control in the third quarter, taking the opening kickoff and driving 60 yards in nine plays, taking a 24-10 lead on Bankole’s 1-yard TD run on third-and-goal.

After VC was again stopped in the red zone, settling for a 28-yard Pimental field goal, Barton’s 41-yard scoring strike to Norion Espadron put Riverside ahead 31-13 with 5:26 left in the third quarter.

“They had two big plays and they have a lot of good talent,” Mooshagian said.

Irvin hit Aragon for TD passes of 5 and 23 yards as the Pirates attempted to climb back into the game, but Riverside was too much.

“I’m proud of these guys,” Mooshagian said. “From where they started and what they had to go through, their perseverance was just awesome. It’s hard, but it’s awesome. It was a great run.”

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 @vcsjoecurley on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: VC football falls to Riverside again in the SoCal title game