Emotional Ride by Ventura Ends With Last-Second Win

The Ventura College football team took itself and its fans through the gamut of emotions Saturday night.

And when the ride lurched to a stop almost four hours later, the visiting Pirates had claimed a nail-biting 49-47 triumph in their Western State Conference opener against West Los Angeles.

It took a field goal by a 24-year-old kicker to give Ventura the victory.

Tory Rieman, who last played for Ventura High in 1985, split the uprights from 32 yards with two seconds remaining to give Ventura (1-1, 1-0 in conference play) its exhilarating win.

Rieman, who earlier had kicked field goals of 38 and 27 yards, said he was more excited than nervous on his game-winning kick.

“It was just like practice,” the former construction worker said.

In the defense-less contest in which the teams scored 96 points and amassed more than 1,000 yards in offense, two names--Matt Brimigion and Kevin Hicks--stood out.

Brimigion, the Ventura quarterback, directed a balanced attack and completed 23 of 42 passes for 374 yards and four touchdowns.

Brimigion connected with tight end Brian Righetti on touchdown passes of nine and 16 yards in the second quarter to give the Pirates what they thought was a comfortable 24-7 lead.

But early in the fourth quarter running back Hicks, who scored earlier on a 91-yard run, pushed across from the five to give West L.A. a 40-33 lead. Hicks finished with 238 yards and three touchdowns.

“I felt like I’d been to Magic Mountain all day,” relieved Ventura Coach Dick James said. “What a roller-coaster ride this game was.”