Ventura’s Swafford Again Cuts a Swath Through Buena

For Derek Swafford, victory over Buena High was especially sweet.

The field at Ventura High was flooded Friday night with many of the approximately 8,000 spectators who watched Ventura trounce the Bulldogs, 62-27, in the annual Channel League showdown between the cross-town rivals. Standing among the jubilant throng, Swafford, the Cougars’ senior tailback, beamed from ear to sweaty ear.

“I had a good ol’ game,” Swafford said. “I finally got my game.”

He also succeeded in his quest to retain bragging rights over his close friend and counterpart, George Keiaho of Buena, for the third consecutive year.

While Keiaho, the Bulldogs’ splendid junior, rushed for 280 yards and three touchdowns, Swafford seemed almost obsessed to do better.

Swafford rushed for a school-record 292 yards in 21 carries and scored five touchdowns, including a dazzling 89-yard fourth-quarter run after Keiaho had scored a touchdown to spark Buena.

Swafford also had scoring runs of 69, seven and 45 yards and caught a 52-yard touchdown pass. He amassed 339 all-purpose yards. The win moved Ventura (7-2, 4-2 in league play) into a second-place tie with Buena (5-4, 4-2), Santa Barbara and Rio Mesa.

“I’m always ready for Buena,” Swafford said. “I guess I always have a good game against them. I just can’t walk around Ventura knowing Buena beat us.”

Quite simply, it has been a difficult year for anyone at Ventura High to walk with his head held high.

Three weeks into the season, the team was rocked by news that Coach Harvey Kochel had been arrested on suspicion of having sexual intercourse with a 16-year-old female Ventura High student. The subsequent investigation of Kochel did little to keep the players focused on football. On Thursday, a chapter of the saga came to a close when Kochel entered guilty pleas to six felony counts. But the wounds appear far from healed.

After Friday’s game, players chose not to answer questions about the ordeal. Jake Kochel, the coach’s son and a starting defensive back said, “I don’t want to talk about that. I’m doing fine.”

Senior fullback Devon Passno, who gained 167 yards in 13 carries, said, “We’ve just learned to deal with it. It’s over.”

Swafford perhaps spoke for his peers when he said, “The team knows that that’s just life. We gotta take it as it comes. I care about him a lot, but there’s nothing I can do except go on and play.”

Since Kochel left the team, the Cougars have posted a 4-2 league mark.

Despite the turmoil, this season might rank as Swafford’s best.

For the third consecutive year, Swafford (5-foot-11, 175 pounds) has rushed for more than 1,000 yards. He raised his season total to 1,030 with Friday’s performance and he has scored 21 touchdowns.

Swafford has only 105 carries--45 fewer than he had in 1990 when he rushed for a personal-high 1,069 yards. He gained 1,016 yards as a junior and has 3,115 yards in his career, a school record. On Friday, he broke the mark of 2,863 set by Lamon Fields (1982-84).

Historically, Swafford has stepped to the fore against Buena.

Growing up together in Ventura, Swafford and Keiaho, both talented backs, knew they would one day square off in high school. They have met in three games, with Ventura and Swafford getting the upper hand in each.

“George told me when we were young that they were going to beat us,” Swafford said. “He says, ‘This game is mine.’ I say, ‘It’s mine.’ ”

In 1990, Swafford rushed for 205 yards in a 27-21 victory that led to an outright league championship for Ventura.

Last season, when Ventura earned a share of the league title, Swafford rushed for 140 yards and one touchdown to lead the Cougars to a 14-10 victory.

In Round 3, Swafford came out swinging. He ran for one touchdown and caught a touchdown pass before Keiaho had his first carry. Swafford then proceeded to carry Ventura to a prodigious point total and, once again, victory.