Venice Eeks Out 30th Consecutive League Win During 'Battle of the Beach'

Fans were expecting a shootout Friday night as two of the Western League's highest-scoring offenses faced off at Venice High. However, it was the defenses that carried the day and a late touchdown propelled the Gondos to a 19-14 victory over Westchester.

“They did a great job of getting their hands on our receivers and they really slowed us down," Venice Coach Angelo Gasca said. "They were looking to shut down Gabe Marks, so guys like Buddy Banks and Jahret Hood had to step up, and they did."

The Gondos had averaged 29 points heading into the game, with Westchester averaging 31. However, spectators wouldn’t have been able to guess that in the first quarter, as the teams combined for four first downs in the first 12 minutes.

Both teams continued to struggle until Venice ran its two-minute offense before halftime. The Comets were focusing their defense on Marks, allowing Banks to step in. Banks made four catches, moving the Gondos down the field seemingly by himself.

The last of his four catches was a five-yard slant pattern that produced the first points of the game with 12 seconds left in the half.

"Banks just made some great plays. He was clutch, and we really needed him tonight," Gasca said of his wide receiver. "He’s a great weapon and if you don’t focus on him, he’ll sneak up on you."

With only five seconds left, Westchester took the ball, and it looked like Venice would go into the half with a well-deserved lead. However, Westchester pulled a trick out of the hat, as junior wideout Jason King caught a screen pass and chucked the ball downfield to a wide open Darnell Brown, who eluded several tacklers on his way to the end zone.

The score was 7-7 at halftime.

Venice's defense was not deterred, and forced a three-and-out on the Comets' first possession of the second half. Venice drove down, but was unable to punch it in, leading to a 25-yard field goal by McLean Emmanuel that gave the Gondos a 10-7 lead.

This process repeated itself, as Venice once again held on defense, and the Gondos tacked on another field goal, making it 13-7 late in the third quarter.

Westchester finally broke a big play and was able to drive down to the Venice 8-yard line when confusion took over the field. First, officials called offensive false start and offsides penalties. After that, another false start penalty on Westchester was inexplicably waived off, and it took nearly eight minutes for the officials to clear up all the confusion with Gasca.

“He told me that people were yelling at the referee about the call before, and that confused the Westchester player, which was ridiculous because their coach was yelling too," Gasca said of the mishaps. "It was very bizarre.”

After a lengthy delay, the game resumed and Westchester had a fourth and goal from the 9-yard line. The Comets completed a pass at the goal line after a Gondos defender missed an interception attempt and Westchester led 14-13 with five minutes left, looking to complete the unlikely upset.

However, as he was in the first half, sophomore quarterback Alexander Diamont looked comfortable running the two-minute offense, driving his team into Comets territory. On fourth and five, Diamont found Banks again, this time for eight yards and a first down.

Two plays later, Diamont hooked up with tight end Jahret Hood and the Gondos were back on top 19-14 with 2:45 left.

“Alex plays great when he stops thinking about the game and just plays," Gasca said of his quarterback. "That’s why he was so effective late in both halves. He made some great throws tonight, and we needed everyone of them.”

Late in the game it was the defense that came through when needed most. The Gondos tightened up, forcing three Westchester incompletions. On fourth and 10, a Westchester receiver dropped a potential first down catch and Venice took over on downs.

The Gondos milked the clock and sealed their 30th consecutive league victory with 20 seconds to go after running back Lamar Moody converted on third and three. The last opponent to beat Venice in league was Fairfax, which won by the same score (19-14) in 2005.

“We just need to keep winning--winning begets winning,” Gasca said. “We know we are getting everyone’s best shots, but we aren’t going to give this up easily. We have another tough game next week, too."

The Gondos will host Hamilton at 7 p.m. next Friday.

Score by Quarters

1

2

3

4

Final

Westchester

0

6

6

19

Venice

0

7

0

14

Records: Westchester 4-3, 0-2; Venice 3-4, 2-0.