Rio Mesa at Ventura

Friday night started full of hope in the face of a stiff challenge as the 1-0 Rio Mesa Spartans traveled to North to take on the 2-0 Ventura Cougars.

A very mediocre week of practice combined with a Cougar squad which was very ready to play, made for a very looooong evening for the Red and Black.

Great Goal Line Defensive Surge

It was only one of several goal line snaps on the night, not a good sign for the Spartans. The Cougars would jump out to a 23-0 lead early in the second period.

TD Jordan Nunnery

Jordan caught a pass in the right flat and reversed his field all the way to the left sideline in route to this 54 yard TD with 3:08 left in the half.

This remarkable play kept the flicker of hope alive a bit longer at the break.

QB Trent Thornton

We changed QBs at the half as Trent came in and showed a lot of moxie in moving the team and getting up quickly from some viscious hits. He passing stat line was 10 for 17, 96 yards, 1 TD pass and 0 interceptions.

Mike Moon Rallying the Defense

It was a very disappointing night that revealed how far we still have to come to be a decent team. We were held to ZERO yards rushing on 23 carries. That just will not cut it in any game at any time. Credit Ventura's defensive front that dominated the LOS from start to finish -- they brought the hat!

The Final Score was Ventura 44 - Rio Mesa 13.

Cronies Camarillo

To help ease the pain, we gathered at Cronies after the game. I'm here with Peppe Strano (our TE from the Catania Elephants), Laurie, Valeria (Peppe's wife) and Jason Johnson (our QB in Catania and currently the QB coach for Pacific Lutheran University who was in town for PLU's game against California Lutheran University on Saturday.

Our son Mike, who coaches the JV team at nearby Newbury Park H.S., took this picture and gave Peppe the Panther Football T-shirt he is proudly holding.

I was grateful that Peppe and Valeria had hooked up with Jason for the evening and did not see the Ventura game.

It was that embarrassing.

Week #2 Results: BOLD = RM Opponent

Ventura 44 - Rio Mesa 13

Beverly Hills 20 - San Marcos 14

Lompoc 36 - Santa Barbara 14

Cabrillo 28 - Dos Pueblos 0

Saugus 34 - Buena 32

Pacifica 64 - Santa Paula 39

San Luis Obispo 28 - Oxnard 7

Nordhoff 41 - Hueneme 0

Channel Islands 38 - Santa Clara 24

Righetti 35 - Camarillo 21

Week #3 Games: BOLD = RM Opponent

Friday, September 23rd

Rio Mesa (1-1) at Santa Barbara (1-2)

Hueneme (0-3) at San Marcos (0-3)

Nordhoff (1-2) at Ventura (3-0)

Dos Pueblos (0-3) at Lompoc (3-0)

Buena (0-3) at Oxnard (0-2)

Golden Valley (0-2) at Channel Islands (3-0)

Camarillo (1-1) at Canyon (2-0)

BYE: Pacifica (2-1)

Pacific View League Standings

Channel Islands 0-0 PVL, 3-0 overall

Pacifica 0-0, 2-1

Camarillo 0-0, 1-1

Rio Mesa 0-0, 1-1

Oxnard 0-0, 0-2

Hueneme 0-0, 0-3