Venice’s Ragland gets focused

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It was the second quarter and Venice quarterback Richard Ragland came to his sideline fuming.

The Gondliers had just fumbled away a touchdown. It was the second turnover created by the Banning defense. The Pilots converted the first Venice mistake -- a Ragland pass was intercepted -- into a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

As Ragland sat down in a huff. A passerby told him to take a breath a relax.

‘If you’re tied up in knots, the team won’t relax,’ Ragland was told.

Ragland grew calm. On 12th-ranked Venice’s next possession, he threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Curtis McNeal to tie the score, 7-7.

This time, Ragland came off the field smiling.

Now it was a game.

- Mike Terry