The Ventura College Pirates are to off to a strong start, winning their first two games of the season in decisive fashion.

Having the second-best rushing defense in the state, Ventura College is on the road to success, but with high expectations.

Some questions arose regarding this week’s challenger, Santa Barbara City College, who pulled off a shocker by beating the number eight team in the nation, College of the Canyons, last week. Despite having to face an intimidating opponent this weekend, the Pirates still seem to have their heads on straight.

Quarterback Greg Jimenez is happy with the team’s performance, but sees room for improvement.

“Having such a solid defense is a huge stress reliever,” Jimenez said. “It’s just about picking up the pieces on the offensive side of the ball.”

Although Jimenez is averaging over 100 yards a game, he believes the real story is on the defensive side of the ball. With some outstanding players, the defense has been holding opponents to -21 yards rushing and stands amongst the top in the state.

Returning linebacker Pasquale Vacchio believes the defense will remain strong, as long as they stay healthy. Having already lost starting cornerback Khristian Guillory, the Pirates hope to avoid further injuries.

“Yeah [the] defense is stacked,” Vacchio claims, “As long as we stay injury free, I think there’s a good shot at state.”

The Pirates hope to stay undefeated when they travel to Santa Barbara, Saturday, Sept. 19 for a 6:00 p.m. kickoff.