Football Suffers Heartbreaking Loss at Ventura

VENTURA, Calif. --- El Camino College dropped a 21-20 National Northern League game to Ventura on Saturday night at the Ventura Sportsplex.

The Warriors led late after a two-yard touchdown run by Jakai Torres made it 19-14 with 11:07 left in regulation. The team elected to kick the extra point to go up 20-14 and held that lead for most of the fourth quarter.

But the Pirates mounted a 13-play, 67-yard scoring drive that ate up 3:43 that culminated with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Woodworth from Chris Irvin and the extra point put Ventura up 21-20 with 1:14 left in the game.

The Warriors had one final chance to win the game, getting the ball at their own 28 with 1:11 left but Dayton Tafoya's pass to Bryant Williams on 3^rd down was picked off to seal the result and send ECC home with a heartbreaking one-point loss.

The Warriors didn't get much out of their passing game on Saturday night as they mustered just 119 yards through the air.  

The bulk of their offensive attack came on the ground as the Warriors rushed for 232 yards with both of their touchdowns coming on the ground. Marceese Yetts led the team with 81 yards on 17 carries. He was also the leading receiver for ECC with 55 yards on eight catches.

Kendal Taylor added 65 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

With Saturday night's loss, Ventura eliminated the Warriors from contention for the National Northern League title. The Warriors will close out the regular season next week when they host Allan Hancock at Featherstone Field. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.