Ventura College Remains Unscored Upon

After two games, Ventura College’s football opponents have fired blanks. The Pirates, however, have sprayed the scoreboard with 66 points.

And that’s without any large weapons.

“We don’t have any big bombs or cannons,” Coach Phil Passno said. “And we have a rat-a-tat-tat type of defense.”

Ventura blew away Compton, 36-0, Saturday and gunned down Porterville, 30-0, Sept. 9. The Pirate defense, among the top 10 in the state last year, allowed an average of 147 total yards in the two wins. Passno said that average would be lower if the starting defense played an entire game.

“We are a punishing group,” defensive coordinator Steve Tobias said. “We make up for our lack of size with a lot of movement, and emphasize getting all 11 guys to the ball.”

After two shutouts, Ventura’s opponents must have felt the Pirates let the air out of the ball, too. But Tobias said Porterville and Compton were easy targets.

“Neither one of those teams were quality football teams,” Tobias said.

At least not as talented as the Santa Monica team that the Pirates will play host to Saturday night at 7:30 in a Western State Conference game.

“Santa Monica is well-disciplined and doesn’t have any weaknesses,” Tobias said. “It will really be a test.”

Boning up for the test are all-state cornerback Kyron Johnson, as well as linebackers David Nunnery, Mike Gianelli and Kelly Occihiline.

Perhaps Nunnery expressed the defense’s firepower best in the WSC opener against Compton. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound sophomore used his 4.5 speed in the 40-yard dash to erase a 10-yard deficit and tackle a touchdown-bound Compton receiver who had sprinted past the secondary.

“It was a real gutsy thing,” Passno said. “We were ahead far enough (26-0) that it didn’t really matter if they scored, but he ran him down.”

That kind of effort has also made the game easier for Ventura’s offense, which has averaged 350 total yards. It often benefits from good field position provided by the defense and a strong kicking game.

“It allows us to be a little more conservative on offense,” Passno said. “We’ve had a lot of short drives for scores.”

Yet Passno is hesitant to promise any great accomplishments from a team that went 5-5 last season. When pressed, he describes the Pirates as a conference contender.

“It’s really difficult at this point to evaluate our team,” Passno said. “I’d like to think we’ll be tough to beat, but it’s too early to tell.”