Oxnard Rallies but Late Fumble Proves Costly in Loss to Buena

Just when it seemed Friday’s Channel League contest between Oxnard High and Buena could not become any crazier, it did.

Oxnard’s Jason Bell was 10 yards from the end zone, and perhaps a Yellowjacket victory, when a tackle jarred the ball loose and Buena’s Scott Baxter recovered.

Baxter’s recovery, his third of the game, came with 1 minute 47 seconds left and preserved a 31-28 Buena win at Oxnard.

The play capped a wild fourth quarter in which Oxnard rallied from a 31-14 deficit to pull to within 31-28 on quarterback Larry Bumpus’ 13-yard scoring pass to Bell (five catches for 133 yards). Bumpus hit Bell for the two-point conversion with 5:49 left.

After Buena’s David Furst shanked a punt, Oxnard took over at the Bulldogs’ 38 with 2:53 left. Bumpus, who finished 13 of 27 for 242 yards and three touchdowns, tossed a short pass to Bell on third and four at the 32 and Bell scampered 20 yards before fumbling.

Buena (5-1, 3-0 in league play) ran out the clock because Oxnard (4-2, 1-2) had used its timeouts.

“Jeez,” Buena Coach Rick Scott said with a sigh. “I guess some people started to leave and we decided to bring them back to their seats.”

Buena dominated through the first three quarters, but 119 penalty yards and six fumbles nearly caught up with the Bulldogs. Buena sophomore running back George Keiaho finished with 191 yards in 30 carries and senior quarterback Matt Ertman hit 12 of 15 passes for a season-high 223 yards. His four touchdown passes tied David Patterson’s 1981 school record. The Bulldogs finished with 425 total yards.

“When you have a great running back, everybody is gonna load up on you,” Scott said. “And (Ertman) can throw the ball.”

Buena scored on its first drive. Ertman, who completed his first six passes, hit Chris Denger (seven catches for 89 yards) with a 22-yard score and Troy Scott’s conversion gave the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead with 6:35 left in the first quarter.

Oxnard, which finished with 355 yards but lost three fumbles, answered with a one-yard run by Bumpus and Dan Duchai’s conversion to tie the score, 7-7, with 50 seconds left in the quarter. On the drive, Oxnard faced third and 37, but a pass-interference penalty gave the Yellowjackets a first down at Buena’s 30. On fourth and seven at the 27, Bumpus hit Chris Kalaleh (five catches for 82 yards) for an 18-yard gain.

Buena’s next drive also resulted in a touchdown. On third and 12 at the 50, Ertman hit Denger for an 18-yard gain. Then, on second and 22, Ertman hit Dan Lemp on a screen pass and Lemp turned it into a 44-yard touchdown. Scott’s conversion gave Buena a 14-7 lead with 7:28 left in the half.

Buena extended its lead to 21-7 on its next drive. On fourth and 10 at Oxnard’s 29, Ertman hit Furst (three catches for 89 yards) crossing over the middle and Furst ran untouched into the end zone with 1:28 left in the half.

Oxnard immediately came back with a 49-yard drive that took only 68 seconds.

Bumpus completed four passes, the last a four-yard effort that found Kalaleh in the end zone with 20 seconds left in the half. Duchai’s conversion pulled Oxnard within seven, 21-14, at halftime.