Thanks to Robert Mercado for the video clips

Football:

Mt. SAC pulled off an epic comeback at undefeated Ventura College on Saturday night.

The Mounties were in a 23-point hole late in the second quarter, and they entered the fourth quarter trailing the Pirates by 16 points.

However, the young men from Walnut showed their mettle with a 55-54 victory.

Aiden Ramos scored on a 1-yard TD run with 16 seconds to play to pull the Mounties to within 54-53.

Mt. SAC legend Bob Jastrab went gutsy and decided to go for 2 and the win.

Former Glendora quarterback Eric Najarro came onto the field.

Najarro got the ball in the shotgun, rolled to his right and dove towards the end zone.

Najarro was vaulted into the air by the Ventura defenders, but when he landed, the Mounties freshman was clearly in for the 2-point conversion.

A last-second Ventura heave downfield was batted away as the clock struck triple zeroes.

Hunter Herrera was huge for Mt. SAC.

Herrera completed 20-of-29 for 316 yards.

He tossed three TD passes and no picks.

Herrera caught a 2-point pass, and he scored on a 7-yard TD run with 10:05 to play to tie the game at 47-47.

Aiden Ramos had game highs in carries (22) rushing yards (98) and TD runs (3).

Ramos had a 3-yard TD run in the second quarter and a 1-yard TD in the third before his dramatic final last-second score.

Devyn Turner gained 79 yards on 15 carries in the win.

Devon Anderson caught six passes for 74 yards, including a 31-yard TD pass from Herrera on the first play of the second quarter.

Damari Wiggins reeled in TD passes of 9 and 20 yards.

Wiggins finished with three receptions for 38 yards.

Bronseman Davis totaled 74 receiving yards on four catches.

Conrad Tuffy had a pair of catches for 46 yards.

Kenneth Junger Porta went 3-for-3 on extra-point attempts, and he booted a 27-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.

Perhaps the greatest feat in Saturday’s win was the Mounties discipline.

They were flagged just three times for 35 yards.

Mt. SAC left their individual and collective egos and swagger in the locker room, and they played for one another.

Teyondre Coleman had a monster effort with a game-high 15 tackles.

That’s more than twice the leading Ventura defender.

Dakota Mendoza (10), Michael Young (9), Jayden Murrietta (8) and Jeremiah Faustin (6) combined for 33 tackles.

Kanyee Childress had a big interception for Mt. SAC.

Ventura’s Braesen Leon completed 24-of-39 for 387 yards.

Leon tossed three TD passes and one pick.

His 1-yard TD run in the second quarter gave the Pirates a 17-7 lead.

The Ventura offense converted on 11-of-18 third-down opportunities.

Love Adabeyo gained 82 yards on seven carries.

Javarien Salter carried the ball 14 times for 40 yards, including a pair of TD runs.

Koen Glover gained 47 yards on 14 carries with one TD.

Tayvion McCoy caught six passes for 146 yards and two scores.

Elijah Davis had eight receptions for 119 yards and one TD.

Up next: The Mounties will host El Camino (8-2) on November 22nd in a semifinal round playoff game.

Box Score:
MS: 0-17-14-24-(55)
VC: 10-27-10-7-(54)

Scoring:
V: Javarien Salter 20 run (Bodie Ing kick)
V: Bodie Ing 31 FG
M: Devon Anderson 31 pass from Hunter Herrera (Kenneth Junger Porta kick)
V: Braesen Leon 1 run (Bodie Ing kick)
M: Aiden Ramos 3 run (Kenneth Junger Porta kick)
V: Javarien Salter 2 run (Bodie Ing kick)
V: Elijah Davis 31 pass from Braesen Leon (Bodie Ing kick)
V: Koen Glover 1 run (Bodie Ing kick)
M: Kenneth Junger Porta 27 FG
M: Damari Wiggins 9 pass from Hunter Herrera (Kenneth Junger Porta kick)
V: Tayvion McCoy 20 pass from Braesen Leon (Bodie Ing kick)
M: Aiden Ramos 1 run (Joseph Gutierrez kick)
V: Bodie Ing 36 FG
M: Damari Wiggins 20 pass from Hunter Herrera (Herrera to Devon Anderson pass)
M: Hunter Herrera 7 run (2-point pass good)
V: Tayvion McCoy 24 pass from Braesen Leon (Bodie Ing kick)
M: Aiden Ramos 1 run (Eric Najarro run)

Quotable:

Mt. SAC coach, Bob Jastrab: “We told them all week to stay the course and keep battling, so falling behind wasn’t that big of a deal. We wanted them to concentrate on doing their jobs as opposed to worrying about the outcome. We’ve had a couple of forfeits, and we missed out on a lot of reps. What bothered me earlier in the game was allowing them to convert on so many third-down plays, but in the second half, our defense kept the ball in front of them and made plays. I thought Hunter played great tonight and did really well executing the plays. At the end, I didn’t want to leave any time on the clock, because they’re an explosive team. But when we scored, I knew we were a little banged up and I decided to go for the win. We brought Eric Najarro in to run a play we call ‘Batman.’ And Eric is a great kid and a very good athlete, and I told him that he might have to run it in. He made a huge play for us and I’m very proud of him and the entire team.”

Mt. SAC running back, Aiden Ramos: “When we were down, we knew what had to be done. Our defense has our backs and we have theirs. We told ourselves at halftime that we were going to go out there and finish. I think what made this so special is the love we have for each other. We knew what the goal was and when you put in so much work with a group like this, it creates a resilient team with no quit. It felt great to do my part. My offensive line does a great job, so I just have to do what’s expected of me. I’ll do whatever it takes to help us win. Hunter played great, and we know we can count on any of our quarterbacks in big moments. I love those guys, and the QB room puts in the work during the week, and you see the result.”

Mt. SAC quarterback, Hunter Herrera: “I’ve been waiting on an opportunity, and I knew how important this game was. I just wanted to win the game and that’s my goal always when I get my shot. In my opinion, we haven’t faced that kind of adversity throughout the entire season. We had to really come together as a team and fight through being down a majority of the game. I never really felt a true “spark”. I think we just knew we were a better team and started to come together at the later stages in the game.”

Mt. SAC freshman, Eric Najarro: “It was my only play besides placeholding for our kickers. When I heard that he decided to go for 2, I was thinking that coach was crazy and we should tie the game. I definitely doubted the play too, as we’ve been practicing it all year, and it just feels like it wouldn’t work. He also talked about calling a timeout if he didn’t like the look, but then he signaled for me to run it and I knew it was go-time. When I dove, I knew it that I was getting in. I was a first-team all-league goalie in soccer, and I knew if I was able to get to the 3-yard line, I could dive three yards. Hunter definitely sparked the comeback, along with our whole offense coming together and understanding what we had to do to comeback— play Sacdawg football. Although it could be considered a tough day for our defense, at the end of the day, they kept us in the game. And Kanyee’s interception at the half was a game-changing play.”

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Replay of the game by SoCalCollegeSports1:

Saturday’s National Northern Scores:
Citrus 51, Allan Hancock 31
Santa Ana 40, Santa Barbara 20
Moorpark 30, Long Beach 13
Mt. SAC 55, Ventura 54

National Northern Standings:
Mt. SAC (9-1, 6-1)
Ventura (9-1, 6-1)
Moorpark (6-4, 5-2)
Citrus (6-4, 4-3)
Allan Hancock (4-6, 3-4)
Long Beach (3-7, 3-4)
Santa Ana (1-9, 1-6)
Santa Barbara (0-10, 0-7)