Passno Carries Ventura Past Rio Mesa, 41-20

Devon Passno and Ventura High turned their attention back to football Friday night and the result was a 41-20 victory over Rio Mesa in a Channel League game.

Passno, a senior fullback, dominated the visiting Spartans with a school-record 278 yards and three touchdowns in 19 carries, breaking the record of 272 set by Danny Taylor in 1989.

And wingback Derek Swafford added to the Cougars’ rushing total, rolling up 157 yards and scoring Ventura’s other three touchdowns in nine carries.

Passno helped put the game away with touchdown runs of 66 and 73 yards in the second half when the Cougars built a 34-14 lead. He also scored on a 14-yard burst for Ventura’s first score in the first quarter.

Anguished by the loss of Coach Harvey Kochel, who was charged last Friday with having sex with a 16-year-old female Ventura High student, the Cougars (4-1 overall, 1-1 in league play) stumbled in their league opener last week at San Marcos. They were all business against Rio Mesa.

“The loss last week put us in focus,” Passno said. “We knew if we wanted to win league, we had to play hard.”

Ventura’s defense, which was pierced for 38 points in last week’s loss, showed a penchant for making the big play against the Spartans. The Cougars stopped Rio Mesa twice inside the 25 on turnovers and held the Spartans on downs on another occasion at the Cougar 37.

Junior quarterback Don DiDomizio keyed Rio Mesa’s option attack with 131 yards rushing and two touchdowns in 18 carries. He also passed for 68 yards, hitting six of 14 attempts with one interception.

Fullback Junior Liufau scored the Spartans’ final touchdown on a seven-yard run and finished with 80 yards in 12 carries.