Venice Hits Marks in Loss to Lancers

Once again, the Venice High football team held the lead at halftime, and once again the Gondos were unable to hold it on their home field. Despite a stellar game by star wide receiver Gabe Marks, Venice was unable to prevent its fourth straight loss--a gut-wrenching 38-35 defeat at the hands of Bishop Amat.

Marks lined up in the Wildcat formation and took direct snaps several times, breaking long runs to finish with 113 yards in just seven carries--including an 89-yard burst that gave the Gondos their biggest lead, 21-7, midway through the second quarter. Marks also caught seven passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns, the second on a leaping catch in the corner of the end zone that pulled Venice to within three points with 1:13 left in the fourth quarter.

McLean Emmanuel attempted an onside kick in an effort to get Venice the ball back, but Bishop Amat recovered and proceeded to pick up a first down to run out the clock.

"I was proud of the team because we did play four quarters tonight, we just let them score more than we scored," Venice Coach Angelo Gasca said. "I think we've played about the toughest [nonleague] schedule of any team in the City Section and even though we've lost four of them, I'd do it again tomorrow. We are getting closer to where we want to be."

Venice led St. Francis 7-3 at halftime before falling 27-17 in Week 3 and was ahead of Helix of La Mesa 17-14 at halftime last week before being outscored 28-3 in the final 24 minutes.

On its second possession, Venice drove 80 yards in 14 plays to tie it 7-7 on a two-yard touchdown run by Lamar Moody with 3:06 left in the first quarter. 

Three plays after Marks held onto a pass over the middle for a 21-yard gain to the Lancers' 4-yard line, Moody plowed over the goal line to put Venice ahead 14-7. 

"At halftime I told the team that we were going to win," Gasca said. "I felt we were going to win right down to the end. Give them credit, they made the plays they needed to make to win the game." 

A 48-yard reverse by Bishop Amat's Adam Sanchez was the only score of the third quarter and tied the game 21-21. It also showed that the Lancers were starting to control the line of scrimmage.

"They ran the ball right at us in the second half and that's what I'd do if I was them," Gasca said. "If you try to throw it on us, [Gabe] Marks and [Jayshawn] Lowe are going to take it away from you, it's that simple."

After a 23-yard field goal by Alex Gutierrez early in the fourth quarter and a 1-yard run by Moore at the 7:48 mark gave Bishop Amat a 31-21 lead, Marks ran a crossing route, broke three tackles, cut to the middle of the field and outran the safeties to the end zone for a 66-yard touchdown that narrowed the Gondos' deficit to 31-28 with with 7:04 left.

"Has Venice ever had anyone better?" Gasca asked, referring to Marks, who has committed to SMU. "He's a spectacular football player--as good as it gets."

Sophomore quarterback Alexander Diamont, who threw three interceptions against Helix, completed 13 of 23 passes for 178 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for the Gondos (1-4), who lost to Bishop Amat 42-20 in La Puente last season. Lowe had four catches for 53 yards for Venice, ranked No. 5 in the City Section by MaxPreps.

The Lancers (5-1) entered Thursday's intersectional contest ranked fifth in the CIF Southern Section's top division, the Pac-5. They were led by senior running back Jalen Moore, who rushed for 215 yards and three touchdowns in 38 carries, including a four-yard score that gave Bishop Amat a 38-28 lead with 2:11 remaining.

"We played well in stretches, but we needed to get more stops defensively," Lancers Coach Steve Hagerty said. "I'm just glad we had Jalen [Moore] back there to carry us. It seemed like whenever we needed a first down, he got it. We still have things to work on." 

Venice needed only three plays to respond. Lowe drew single coverage and out-jumped his defender to haul in a 35-yard pass from Diamont that move the Gondos to the Bishop Amat 25. Marks caught his second touchdown pass on the next play.   

"We play a demanding schedule for a reason and that's to get battle tested for league," Gasca said. "Make no mistake about it, we want to win. There's no looking back, no moral victories. We're the defending league champs. It's time for us to defend that and starting right now that's our focus."

The combined record of the Gondos' five nonleague opponents is 20-4 and four of them are ranked in their respective divisions. Venice can now set its sights on winning its 10th consecutive league title. 

Venice travels to Fairfax for its Western League opener next Friday.

Score by Quarters

1

2

3

4

Final

Bishop Amat

7

7

17

38

14

0

14

Scoring Summary

Bishop Amat -- Sanchez 18 run (Gutierrez kick), 8:47 left in 1st qtr.

Venice -- Moody 2 run (Emmanuel kick), 3:06 left in 1st qtr.

Venice -- Moody 1 run (Emmanuel kick), 10:47 left in 2nd qtr.

Venice -- Marks 89 run (Emmanuel kick), 7:12 left in 2nd qtr.

Bishop Amat -- Moore 5 run (Gutierrez kick), 0:36 left in 2nd qtr.

Bishop Amat -- Sanchez 48 run (Gutierrez kick), 9:22 left in 3rd qtr.

Bishop Amat -- Gutierrez 23 field goal, 10:35 left in 4th qtr.

Bishop Amat -- Moore 1 run (Gutierrez kick), 7:48 left in 4th qtr.

Venice -- Marks 66 pass from Diamont (Emmanuel kick), 7:04 left in 4th qtr.

Bishop Amat -- Moore 4 run (Gutierrez kick), 2:11 left in 4th qtr.

Venice -- Marks 25 pass from Diamont (Emmanuel kick), 1:13 left in 4th qtr.

Records: Bishop Amat 5-1; Venice 1-4.