Tensions were high in a packed Larrabee Stadium Saturday night as the underdog Ventura Pirates let go of a 10-0 first quarter lead against the former national champions and No. 1 ranked opponent College of the Canyons.

Ventura played a first quarter loaded with defense shutting out their opponent. Aided by an interception and a blocked punt Ventura killed almost all of COCs’ offensive momentum. The momentum shifted consequently, halfway through the second quarter when Ventura star quarterback Brandon Bishop-Parise was taken out of the game with an injury after a strong hit from the College of the Canyons’ defense. The injury occurred shortly after receiver Charles Dillon’s touchdown reception was called back due to an offensive pass interference call. College of the Canyons took full advantage of the Ventura misfortunes with an offensive explosion scoring 28 straight points with out any answer from the Pirates.

College of the Canyons carried their newfound momentum the rest of the game and finished strong with a 56-27 victory.

The game seemed to take a turn for the worst for Ventura whenBishop-Parise went down early in the second quarter.

“Before he went down we were moving the ball down the field great,” said Coach Terry Morris. “It was a very emotional game because we were playing a top ranked opponent and it really hurt our players confidence when he went down.”

Replacement quarterback Brian Stevens simply could not figure out the College of the Canyons’ defense allowing two interceptions and fumbling the first snap he took from center. Although Stevens threw for two touchdowns, it just was not enough to match up against College of the Canyons’ quarterback Marcel Marquez who threw for four touchdowns in the game.

The 2004 state champions lived up to all of their expectations. They capatilized on every Ventura mistake and they completely dominated the game after the first quarter. Ventura must limit their number of mistakes.

College of the Canyons (3-0) will remain in first place in the WSC conference. They will face Moorpark on Saturday.

Ventura College (1-2) looks to improve on their record next week, as it plays against Alan Hancock College of Santa Maria in an away game.