By VC Football –
The Pirates faced their biggest challenge of the season in the opening round of the SCFA Playoffs. Trailing by 16 points late in the third quarter, quarterback Braesen Leon engineered three straight scoring drives in the final 18 minutes to lift Ventura College past Cerritos, 41-37, at the VC Sportsplex. Leon finished with 427 passing yards and three touchdowns, along with 38 rushing yards and another score.
Silas Kemp and Elijah Davis were Leon’s top targets, recording 135 and 130 receiving yards, respectively, with each scoring once. On defense, Jaxon Arrington led the team with 17 tackles, and Charlie Neos added 11 stops.
After Ventura (10-1), seeded fourth, went three-and-out to open the game, the teams traded scores throughout the first half. Davis caught a 25-yard touchdown from Leon midway through the first quarter, answering an early Cerritos score. Early in the second period, Love Adabeyo reached the end zone from seven yards out, and Koen Glover added a one-yard touchdown run with 3:21 left in the half. Arrington ended Cerritos’ final first-half threat with an interception in the end zone, giving the Pirates a 21-20 lead at the break.
Fifth-seeded Cerritos opened the third quarter with a 34-yard field goal, then recovered a Leon fumble and scored on the next play to go ahead 30-21. Ventura’s next drive stalled on fourth-and-2 at the Falcons’ 34, and Cerritos capitalized quickly, scoring on a 61-yard pass play for a 37-21 advantage with 2:40 left in the quarter.
Ventura responded with urgency, marching 73 yards in eight plays. A 38-yard pass to Kemp set up Leon’s 7-yard touchdown run. The two-point attempt failed, leaving VC down 37-27 entering the fourth quarter.
The Pirate defense then stopped Cerritos on fourth-and-5 at the VC 27. Ventura answered with another 73-yard drive, capped by Leon’s 39-yard touchdown strike to Kemp, cutting the deficit to 37-34 with 6:47 remaining.
After the kickoff, Ventura’s defense forced its first three-and-out of the game, giving the Pirates the ball with 4:42 left. On the decisive 80-yard drive, Leon accounted for 61 passing yards, converting a key fourth-and-1 with a 10-yard completion to Javarien Salter. A 21-yard pass to Davis set Ventura up at the Cerritos 25, and on the next play Leon fired a 21-yard touchdown to Tayvion McCoy along the right sideline for the go-ahead score with 53 seconds remaining.
Cerritos mounted a final drive to the Ventura 9-yard line, but the Pirates’ defense held firm, sealing Ventura’s first home playoff win in the 100-year history of the program.
Ventura advances to face top-seeded, 10-0, Golden West Rustlers on Saturday, Nov. 29, at noon in Huntington Beach.
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