Turnovers Hurt Gondos in Home Defeat

Playing in front of its home crowd for the first time this season, the Venice High football team was determined to avenge a 31-13 loss at the hands of St. Francis last year.

For three quarters, the Gondos looked as if they might send their fans home happy. However, the size and stamina of the Golden Knights gradually wore down Venice, which turned the ball over four times in Friday night's 27-17 defeat.

“In a game like this, you can’t turn it over that many times," Venice Coach Angelo Gasca said. "We have to contain their big plays, and limit our mistakes to beat good teams like St. Francis. We just didn’t have enough today.”

Venice started fast, marching down the field on its first possession, capped by a 10-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Alexander Diamont to senior tight end Jahret Hood. Senior Dean Sarabia, the Gondos' first-string quarterback, switched to middle linebacker to fill in for the injured Daniel Magallanes.

For much of the first half, the Gondos defense shut down a St. Francis offense that had scored over 30 points in each of its first two games. After a Diamont interception at the Venice 27-yard line, the Gondos' defense held strong, allowing just two yards on four plays to give the ball back to the offense.

Both teams struggled to move the ball in the first half, but St. Francis (3-0) was finally able to get on the scoreboard with a field goal late in the second quarter, giving Venice a 7-3 halftime lead. 

“The defense played great in the first half," Gasca said. "We should've pitched a shutout, but we turned the ball over twice in our area. They got a bit worn down in the second half, though, and the tackling got sloppy.”

On the Gondos' first offensive play of the second half, senior Deontay Banks took a screen pass 63 yards, all the way to the St. Francis 7-yard line. However, Venice couldn’t punch it into the end zone and settled for a field goal to take a 10-3 lead.

The turning point of the game occurred on the next play. Christian Hess scored on a 99-yard kickoff return that pulled St. Francis to within one point (the extra-point try being missed).

Venice (1-2) responded when Diamont and senior star wide receiver Gabriel Marks hooked up on two big pass plays, the second a 10-yard slant for a touchdown that increased the Gondos' lead to 17-9.

It seemed only a matter of time before the St. Francis offense broke a big play, and it happened when Hess caught a 68-yard touchdown pass and the ensuing two-point conversion tied the game 17-17.

The Golden Knights, ranked fifth in the CIF Southern Section's Western Division, began to wear Venice down in the fourth quarter and the host Gondos started to make mistakes. After taking the lead on a field goal, St Francis forced a fumble, recovered, and scored on a 15-yard quarterback keeper by Jared Lebowitz, making the score 27-17.

“We really have to work on ball security in practice," Gasca said of his team's four costly turnovers. "Obviously, no one is trying to mess up out there. All you can really do is put your arm around these kids and tell them they're going to have some great plays in their careers here at Venice.”

The Gondos were able to put together one last drive, but it ended on the second fumble of the game by sophomore running back Alijah Lee. St Francis proceeded to run out the clock.

“These kids aren’t as experienced as the team was last year," Gasca said. "Games like this are part of their growth. We're getting better, but we have to work on the little things: third-down conversions, cutting down on turnovers, stuff like that. We’ll get better.”

The upcoming schedule doesn't get any easier for Venice, which hosts back-to-back games against San Diego Section power Helix and La Puente Bishop Amat, the sixth-ranked team in the Southern Section's Pac-5 Division.