Comeback Falls Short, Hancock Loses Final Home Game Of Season 45-30 To Ventura

A furious comeback in the second half fell short as the Allan Hancock College football team lost its final home game of the season 45-30 to Ventura College on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs, who overcame a 31-3 halftime deficit to climb to within eight points, fell to 2-3 in Northern League play and 4-5 overall. The No. 13 Pirates improved to 4-1 in conference and 6-3 overall.

The Bulldogs trailed by 28 points to open the third quarter when they scored three straight touchdowns within the first 11 minutes of the second half. Malik Williams broke off a 53-yard run on Hancock's first play of the half. Bakari Davis found the end zone on a 14-yard run on the next play to make it 31-9 Ventura. After the two teams exchanged punts, Ventura quarterback Ty Gangi's pass was picked off by DaMarion King who sprinted for an 80-yard pick-six, his second of the season. The 80-yard interception return for a touchdown narrowed the deficit to 31-16 after the extra point. The Bulldogs found the end zone on their next possession as quarterback Curry Parham connected with receiver Chris Barganier for a 25-yard touchdown reception to make it a 31-23 game with 4:07 to play in the third quarter. Ventura responded with a five-yard touchdown pass from Gangi to Jake Mann to take a 38-23 lead early in the fourth quarter. Hancock answered back with a 44-yard pass to Barganier followed by a two-yard touchdown run from Jericho Worrell to make it a 38-30 game with 14:27 to play in the game.

The Bulldog defense held strong and forced a fourth down with three yards to go at their own 23-yard line. Ventura lined up to kick, but Hancock was whistled for 12 men on the field handing the Pirates a key first down with less than four minutes to play in the game. The Pirates cashed in that costly miscue a few plays later with a one-yard touchdown from by Chris Beeson to put the game out of reach with 1:13 to play.

Williams led the Bulldogs with 66 yards rushing on 11 carries, while Davis had 25 yards rushing on four carries. Parham ran for 23 yards and passed for 129 yards. The sophomore quarterback completed 10 of his 20 passes, including one touchdown pass. Freshman Matt Albright completed four of his six pases for 59 yards. 

Barganier led the Bulldogds with a career-high seven catches for 113 yards and one touchdown. Williams caught two passes for 30 yards, while Kevin Marion and Carwell Gardner each had two catches for 18 yards.

The Bulldogs finished with 150 yards rushing and 188 passing yards for a total of 338 yards of offense. The Pirates had 106 rushing yards and 385 yards through the air for a total offensive output of 491 yards. The Bulldogs were whistled for 14 penalties for 116 yards, while Ventura had 10 penalites for 100 yards.

Hancock lost two fumbles, while Ventura lost one.

Kenneth Vigil, a Lompoc High School graduate, led the Bulldogs with 12 tackles, while linebacker Greg Artis-Payne added 11 stops and recovered one fumble. Patrick Graves finished with a career-high nine tackles, and King finished with seven tackles, one pass breakup and his second pick-six of the season. Sophomore Kevon Perry had two sacks, his brother Davon Perry had two tackles for loss, while Isaiah Hill also had one sack.

The Bulldogs finish the 2015 season next Saturday, Nov. 14, at Moorpark. Kickoff will be at 6 p.m. Moorpark knocked off No. 11 College of the Canyons 17-10 this week. The Raiders improved to 4-5 overall and 3-2 in conference.