Ventura College is well-grounded as it returns to Southern California football playoffs
Reaching the Southern California playoffs has become an annual rite of fall for the Ventura College football program under Steve Mooshagian.
It’s how the Pirates achieved the feat this year that has been unique.
VC is just 19 yards away from having two 1,000-yard runners in the same season for the first time in school history.
Powered by their double-barreled ground attack and an all-local offensive line, the Pirates have earned a berth in the Southern California Football Association playoffs for the third straight season and sixth time in seven years.
“I’ve never had two 1,000-yard backs in the same season,” said Mooshagian. “Those two running backs are special. They feed off one another.”
Third-seeded Ventura College (7-3) will visit No. 2 Fullerton College (10-0) on Saturday at noon in the Southern California semifinals.
The winner advances to play either No. 1 Mt. San Antonio College (10-0) or No. 4 Riverside City for the SoCal title on Dec. 2. The SoCal winner will host the CCCAA state championship against the Northern California champion on Dec. 9.
Sophomore Lamonte James has rushed for 1,028 yards and 11 touchdowns on 167 carries and sophomore Jaylen Thompson has run for 981 yards and six TDs on 135 carries for VC.
The duo sit fifth and sixth in Southern California in rushing, respectively, through the end of the regular season.
It’s a new look for the Pirates during Mooshagian’s pass-happy tenure.
“In order to be a good run team, you have to have the threat that you can throw the football,” Mooshagian said. “I think we have that. It also means you have a good offensive line. I think we have that.”
VC’s starting offensive line comes entirely from the Oxnard Union High School District.
The starting unit consists of 6-foot-5, 295-pound left tackle Jakob Lemus (Hueneme High); 6-3, 310-pound left guard Julio Rey (Pacifica); 6-1, 265-pound center Gabe Rivera (Pacifica); 6-5, 300-pound right guard Malaki Brown (Rio Mesa); and 6-4, 290-pound Donald Dixon (Pacifica).
“It’s the city of Oxnard,” Mooshagian said.
Freshmen Branson Lewis (Camarillo) and Jacob Azunna (Ventura) provide line depth and starting tight end Cody Hoffman starred at Channel Islands and St. Bonaventure highs.
“It’s a Ventura County offensive line,” Mooshagian said. “And having Cody Hoffman at tight end has helped out, too.”
Mooshagian praised offensive coordinator Jake Colman and running backs coach Shaun Wick for their work with the running game.
“Those guys have done a really good job,” Mooshagian said. “Behind the scenes, Shaun Wick has kept those guys playing at a high level, as they’re splitting reps. That’s hard to do in this day and age. He’s done an outstanding job with them.”
At 241.0 yards per game, VC is fourth in rushing in Southern California.
Fullerton leads the region in scoring defense (14.1 points per ggame) and rushing defense (65.0 yards per game).
So it will be strength against strength when VC has the ball on Saturday.
“I think we match up well with them,” Mooshagian said. “They’re talented. They’re very fast and aggressive on defense. They’re a good, solid offensive team. But we’re playing really well on defense.”
The VC defense has allowed just 23.6 points per game in SCFA Northern Conference play.
“This team has just kind of grown up together,” Mooshagian said. “We didn’t always have the guys in the right spots. It was a process. We’re starting to peak at the right time.”
The Pirates have played a series of entertaining games with Fullerton. They edged Fullerton 48-47 in overtime in the teams’ last meeting in 2019. They also pushed the eventual state champions 48-42 in a memorable semifinal loss in 2016.
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: Ventura College's path to SoCal playoffs has been quite a rush
