Ventura made sure Dos Pueblos wasn’t going to spoil its run to a league championship game.
The Cougars scored on their opening possession, built a 34-0 lead at halftime and beat the visiting Chargers 41-7 on Friday night, setting up a Channel League championship against city rival Buena next Friday. Both teams are 3-0 in league.
Dos Pueblos finished a tough season at 1-9 overall and 0-4 in league.
The Chargers were down 34-0 before they scored. Tyler Peralta rushed for three touchdowns and 105 yards in the first half for Ventura (8-1)
“We knew that they (the Chargers) were playing their last game this season, and wanted nothing better than to give us a loss,” Peralta told the Ventura County Star. “We couldn’t let that happen if we wanted to hold onto all our goals this season. We were ready to play.”
Zach Sourwine, the Cougars’ 6-5 wide receiver grabbed a 4-yard scoring pass from quarterback Tyler Smith in the first quarter and followed with a 16-yard scoring reception in the third quarter.
Ventura coach Tim Garcia said his players have stuck to the script all season: Play one game at a time.
“That’s been our focus,” he said. “We tell them that we need to win the league championship every week. There’s no game more important than the one we’re playing each week.”
The Cougars took charge from the opening series.
The six-play, 64-yard drive found the end zone when Peralta scored from 27 yards out. He shook off one tackle and powered past the goal line for a 7-0 lead with 9:45 left in the first quarter.
After a three-and-out by Dos Pueblos, the lead grew to 10-0 on the end of an eight-play, 27-yard drive. Tristan Kanthack booted through a 42-yard field goal with 4:47 on the clock.
Ventura defensive back Josh Januska set up the next score by intercepting DP quarterback Barrett Burnes on the next play from scrimmage.
On first-and-goal from the 4, Smith found Sourwine for a scoring pass and a 21-0 lead.
Kanthack’s 32-yard field goal near the top of the second period upped the lead to 27-0.
A seven-play, 45-yard march ended in Peralta’s 12-yard touchdown and a 34-0 edge with 1:19 remaining before halftime.
