Ventura Crosses Up Buena in Victory

Ventura High Coach Harvey Kochel never claimed to be an offensive wizard. Just line up, fellas, and run at them.

“We really don’t have a lot of plays,” Kochel said. “It’s that the ones we have, the kids understand them. And if it’s there, we do the job.”

Ventura has used that philosophy to become the area’s biggest offensive threat, adding 397 yards during a 27-20 win over Buena in a Channel League game Friday in front of more than 6,000 at Larrabee Stadium.

Ventura diverts attention to its running game, which averages 266 yards a game, then surprises the defense with the pass. And Friday, that happened to be a 75-yard pass from Trevor Rumsey to Tito Holquin that extended a 21-20 lead with 4 minutes 48 seconds left.

Buena, which had watched Ventura sophomore Derek Swafford score on runs of 72 and 47 yards in the first half, adjusted its defense to thwart the run, so Kochel ordered Ventura’s seventh pass of the night on third and nine at the Cougars’ 25-yard line.

“We couldn’t run, so we had to do something,” Kochel said.

And it was something. Holquin caught the ball alone at midfield and sprinted untouched into the end zone.

“They had those two long runs (from Swafford), and we were supposed to make the adjustment for that pass, but didn’t,” Buena Coach Rick Scott said.

Yet Ventura (5-1-1, 3-0-1 in league play) did not secure the victory until Buena’s ensuing drive ended at Ventura’s 14. Buena (2-5, 2-2), aided by Chuck Mullaney’s 35-yard run, had first down at the 20 but came up empty when Mike Dexter’s pass fell incomplete in the end zone with 1:41 left.

For Buena, it was typical of a second half in which the Bulldogs wasted two scoring opportunities because of interceptions.

“We had our chances,” Scott said.

And, for the most part, the Bulldogs took advantage of them. They led, 20-14, at halftime on a 74-yard run by freshman George Keiaho (10 carries for 108 yards) as time expired.

But in the second half Ventura, which gained 307 yards rushing, began to wear Buena down. Swafford, who gained a career-best 201 yards in 19 carries, scored on a two-yard run with 5:25 left in the third quarter. Rumsey’s conversion gave the Cougars a 21-20 lead.

“We felt if we had enough snaps, we’d get the ball into the end zone,” Kochel said.

Ventura established that mind-set when, on a third-and-one play, Swafford sprinted 72 yards from the Cougars’ 28. Rumsey’s conversion gave Ventura a 7-0 lead with 10:03 left in the first quarter. Buena answered with consecutive touchdowns, the first a two-yard run by Mullaney with 6:20 left in the first quarter. The key play of the drive was Dexter’s 18-yard run on third and nine from Ventura’s 31.

Then Buena put together a 72-yard drive that Mullaney capped with a 12-yard run. The march was kept alive by Rumsey’s 20-yard completion to Anthony Morales on a fake punt.

Ventura countered with another long touchdown run by Swafford, this one from 47 yards with 1:08 left in the half. Rumsey’s conversion tied the score, 14-14.

Buena next began on its 21 only 1:05 before intermission, then faced first and 16 at its 26 with three seconds left. But Keiaho broke several tackles on a 74-yard run that gave Buena a 20-14 halftime lead.