No. 9 Ventura (7-3) vs. No. 14 Golden West (6-4)
Orange County Rooster Bowl
LeBard Stadium, Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, 6 p.m.
LAST WEEK: Ventura 41, Moorpark 28; Golden West 56, Southwestern 10.
SERIES HISTORY: The series is tied, 2-2, after Ventura swept consecutive meetings in 2005 and 2006.
GAME FACTS: Known more for its volleyball and water-sport programs, Golden West has long been a footnote on the football field. But the longtime stepchild of the former Mission Conference ended 34 years without a bowl berth by winning its final six games. After winning six of its first seven games, Ventura saw its playoff hopes dashed by consecutive losses to Bakersfield and Hancock, but the Pirates put it back together last week with a resolute Citrus Cup performance. Ventura is fourth in total defense (271.7 ypg) and No. 10 in rushing defense (96.2 ypg). Ventura was even more dominant defensively until injuries to key defensive personnel like Travaun Nixon (38 tackles, 6 ints.), Brenden Daley (58 tackles, 2 sacks) and Derrick Clune (38 tackles, 3.5 sacks). Daley and Clune returned last week, but DL Tommy Stuart (29 tackles, 9.5 for losses) limped off. Behind QB Mike VanDeripe (198-of-331 passing, 2,640 yards, 25 TDs, 10 ints.) and RB Harold Williams (99 att., 550 yards, 7 TDs), the Rustlers have a potent offense averaging 34.1 points. Meanwhile, the Rustlers haven't allowed more than 21 points in a game since Sept. 26, a span of six games. WRs Bryce Blake (66 rec., 895 yards) and Brandon Grissom (42 rec., 667 yards) have caught 8 TDs each. Blake leads the region in receptions. Only five teams in SoCal have thrown for more yards. Golden West also leads the region in pass defense (157.4 ypg) , which has been the Pirates' lofty position over the past two seasons, and turnover margin (plus 21). The Rustlers, who have been flagged a region-low 518 yards in penalties, don't make many mistakes, Behind RBs Dominic Morris (113 att., 543 yards, 5 TDs, Gabriel Bostic (84 att., 330 yards, 1 TD) and Kraig McPherson (50 att., 207 yards, 1 TD), plus QB Antavius Sims (124 att., 487 yards, 9 TDs), Ventura is No. 7 in rushing offense (183.6 ypg). But the Sims (82-of-145 passing, 1,097 yards, 9 TDs, 5 ints.) is coming off one of his better passing games, especially to WR Nick Karam (38 rec., 545 yards, TDs).

The Ventura College men's basketball team fell to 1-4 with a frustrating 63-53 loss to Imperial Valley Thursday night in Irvine despite a career high 22 points and six rebounds from Jeremiah Slowik and 10 points from Jordan Harris.

"We couldn't hit a shot," said coach Will Cowen. "We're not playing very well right now."

Ventura, which was just 8 of 18 from the line, faces Long Beach City in Friday's consolation semifinals. Imperial Valley improved to 1-0.

A loss would get the Pirates hope for Saturday night's playoff women's soccer game with Antelope Valley, rather than watching the football team's Orange County Bowl game against Golden West in nearby Costa Mesa.

Four local community college soccer programs will open the Southern California regional playoffs in the county Saturday, as the two men's teams were pitted against each other and the two women's teams earned Top 4 seeds when the pairings were released Saturday afternoon.

No. 7 Oxnard (11-6-4) will host No. 10 Moorpark (11-6-2) Saturday afternoon at 2 in a regional quarterfinal. Their last meeting in Oxnard produced a 4-2 thriller Oct. 9.

The Ventura College women's soccer team (16-3-1) was seeded second in the Southern California regional playoffs for the second straight season. The No. 2 Pirates will host No. 15 Antelope Valley (16-3) Saturday night at 7 in the regional quarterfinals.

The undefeated Moorpark College women's soccer team (14-0-4), which edged Ventura in the Western State Conference's North Division for the second time in three years, was seeded No. 4. The Raiders will host No. 13 San Diego Miramar (16-3-1), which features forward Nicole Petracca, who leads Southern California with 64 points (23 goals, 18 assists).

WSC standings and statistics through Mon, Nov. 16:

WSC VOLLEYBALL
NORTH WSC PCT. GF GA SEASON PCT.
S Barbra 8-1 .889 25 6 19-2 .905
Moorpark 8-1 .889 26 5 18-2 .900
Ventura 5-4 .556 17 15 10-10 .500
Cuesta 4-5 .444 15 16 7-13 .350
Hancock 2-7 .222 6 22 6-12 .333
Oxnard 0-9 .000 2 27 5-11 .313
KILL PERCENTAGES (GP) ATT. KILLS ERRORS PCT.
1. Jen Waddill, Santa Barbara (80) 349 201 32 .484
2. Nicole Bergmann, Santa Barbara (80) 285 157 37 .421
3. Reisa Fessler, Bakersfield (73) 661 305 80 .340
4. Lindsey Wilcox, Canyons (73) 302 158 61 .321
5. Kaitlyn Henry, Cuesta (72) 173 69 16 .306
6. Mackenzie Sullivan, Cuesta (72) 679 286 85 .296
7. Danica Lawrence, Citrus (63) 255 121 48 .286
8. Corissa Alvarez, Bakersfield (70) 276 117 40 .279
9. Una Siljegovic, Moorpark (68) 518 221 78 .276
10. Kayla Cribbs, Cuesta (72) 380 152 48 .274
17. Kasey Ullery, Moorpark (63) 240 88 28 .250
19. Dominique Franz, Oxnard (22) 110 44 17 .245
20. Rachel Olinyk, Moorpark (67) 417 182 81 .242
26. Justine O' Connor, Ventura (72) 272 87 26 .224
Shanna Wright, Oxnard (22) 107 34 10 .224
28. Shakila Balkhi, Moorpark (67) 513 171 57 .222
30. Kayla Phipps, Ventura (67) 369 148 74 .201
32. Chelsea O' Mara, Ventura (58) 389 151 76 .193
38. Sandra Alvarez, Ventura (59) 226 75 43 .142
41. Anne Westbrook, Ventura (70) 260 83 50 .127
47. Shelbee Younce, Ventura (70) 564 153 96 .101

WSC MEN'S WATER POLO
TEAM WSC SEASON
Ventura (1) 4-0 19-5
Cuesta (2) 3-1 20-14
L.A. Valley (3) 1-3 10-16
Citrus (4) 2-2 14-15
Santa Monica (5) 0-4 1-21
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONSLS
Cuesta 13, Ventura 12
Long Beach City 17, Cuesta 6
Riverside City 11, Cuesta 8

WSC WOMEN'S WATER POLO
TEAM WSC SEASON
Ventura (1) 4-0 18-5
Citrus (2) 3-1 15-11
Cuesta (3) 2-2 12-19
Santa Monica (4) 1-3 7-18
L.A. Valley (5) 0-4 5-20
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONALS
Long Beach City 7, Ventura 6

WSC MEN'S SOCCER
TEAM WSC POINTS SEASON
S Barbra 9-1-4 31 9-6-5
Canyons 9-3-2 29 12-6-2
Moorpark 9-4-1 28 11-6-2
Oxnard 7-4-3 24 11-6-4
LA Missio 7-4-3 24 10-8-3
Hancock 3-8-3 12 5-12-4
Glendale 3-10-1 10 5-14-2
Citrus 0-13-1 1 2-16-2
SEASON SCORING LEADERS GOALS ASSISTS POINTS
1. Andres Bueno, Canyons 21 10 52
2. Rosario Bras, Hancock 13 4 30
3. Nate Lytle, Oxnard 10 5 25
4. Jorge Serrano, Canyons 8 7 23
5. Emigdio Ramirez, Oxnard 7 6 20
6. Danny Molineaux, Santa Barbara 7 5 19
Armando Torres, Allan Hancock 3 13 19
8. Tito Anguiano, Oxnard 8 2 18
9. William Velasquez, L.A. Mission 8 1 17
Ahmad Yacoub, L.A. Mission 7 3 17
11. Max Madrigal, Oxnard 7 2 16
13. Jose Garcia, Moorpark 6 3 15
16. Gerardo Espinoza, Moorpark 6 2 14
17. Sam Nellis, Oxnard 5 3 13
20. Jerry Ponce, Oxnard 5 2 12
Fernando Zandarin, Moorpark 5 2 12
25. Jonathon Martinez, Oxnard 1 9 11

WSC WOMEN'S SOCCER
NORTH WSC PTS. SEASON
Moorpark 8-0-2 26 14-0-4
Ventura 8-1-1 25 15-3-1
S Barbra 5-3-2 17 10-4-6
Cuesta 4-5-1 13 5-11-3
Oxnard 2-8 6 3-14-1
Hancock 0-10 0 0-16
WSC SCORING TOTALS GOALS ASSISTS POINTS
1. Jaz Strozier, Ventura 27 3 57
2. Kelly Deckers, Santa Barbara 17 8 42
3. Terryn Soelberg, Bakersfield 17 5 39
4. Alyssa McDonald, Ventura 7 18 32
Monique Orocio, Ventura 13 6 32
12. Yadira Toraya, Ventura 5 8 18
16. Taylor Benton, Ventura 7 1 15

Bakersfield wrapped up the conference by winning at Canyons. Ventura wrapped up third place and a non-playoff bowl berth by pulling out the Citrus Cup late, which left Moorpark winless for the first time in school history. Pasadena wrapped up fifth place by winning the San Gabriel Valley game with Glendale.

Week 10 Scores
Ventura 41, Moorpark 27
Bakersfield 24, Canyons 9
Pasadena City 38, Glendale 22
Hancock, bye

Week 10 Standings
Bakersfield 9-1 6-0
Hancock 9-1 5-1
Ventura 7-3 4-2
Canyons 6-4 3-3
Pasadena City 5-5 2-4
Glendale 4-6 1-5
Moorpark 0-10 0-6

Week 11 Schedule

First-round SoCal playoff/bowl games - Nov. 21 (seedings based on final SoCal rankings)

Southern California Bowl at Mt. San Antonio College (Walnut), Time TBA
#1 Mt. San Antonio (9-1, Central Conference champios) vs. #8 L.A. Pierce (7-3, Pacific Conference co-champion)

American Bowl at Fullerton College, Time TBA
#2 Fullerton (9-1, Southern Conference champion) vs. #7 L.A. Harbor (9-1, Mountain Conference co-champion)

National Bowl at Cerritos College (Norwalk), Time TBA
#3 Cerritos (9-1, Central Conference runner up) vs. #6 Palomar (8-2, Southern Conference runner up)

Golden Empire Bowl at Bakersfield College, 3 p.m.
#4 Bakersfield (9-1, National Conference champion) vs. #5 Allan Hancock (9-1, National Conference runner up)

Winners advance to Southern California semifinals, to be hosted by higher seed on Nov. 28. SoCal Championship scheduled for Dec. 5 at higher seed, State Championship on Dec. 12 at NorCal champion.

Bowl Games - Nov. 21 (non-playoff games)

Orange County Bowl at Orange Coast College (Costa Mesa), 5 p.m.
Ventura (7-3, Northern Conference third place) vs. Golden West (6-4, Mountain Conference co-champion)

Western State Bowl at Saddleback College (Mission Viejo), Time TBA
Saddleback (8-2, Southern Conference runner up) vs. Canyons (6-4, Northern Conference fourth place)

Beach Bowl at El Camino College (Torrance), Time TBA
El Camino (8-2, Central Conference third place) vs. Grossmont (7-3, Southern Conference fourth place)

The Ventura College men's basketball team falls to No. 3 Antelope Valley 69-59 in the consolation final of the "We Play Hard" tournament.

The Oxnard College men's basketball team currently trails 41-39 to Orange Coast at halftime of the third-place game.

Ventura 41, Moorpark 28
42nd Citrus Cup game
SCFA Northern Conference
Ventura 0 21 6 14 -- 41
Moorpark 0 7 14 7 -- 28
Second quarter
VC -- Morris 33 run (Stampler kick), 13:14.
VC -- Karam 12 pass from Sims (Stampler kick), 6:06.
VC -- Trueblood 3 run (Stampler kick), 4:31.
MC -- Gant 21 pass from I. Shultis (Z. Shultis kick), 0:16.
Third quarter
MC -- Gant 17 pass from I. Shultis (Z. Shultis kick), 10:53.
VC -- Karam 46 pass from Sims (Stampler pass failed), 10:35.
MC -- Gant 7 pass from I. Shultis (Z. Shultis kick), 0:29.
Fourth quarter
VC -- Morris 13 pass from Sims (Stampler kick), 11:52.
MC -- Hussey 7 pass from I. Shultis (Z. Shultis kick), 7:10.
VC -- Brown 34 interception return (Stampler kick), 0:26.
Team stats VC MC
First downs 18 23
Rushes-yards 43-203 26-82
Passing yards 116 305
Comp-Att-Int 8-14-0 37-57-1
Sacked-yards lost 2-21 1-7
Punts-avg. 6-40.2 5-44.6
Fumbles-lost 1-1 2-2
Penalties-yards 6-59 8-88
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Ventura: Morris 15-80, Karam 2-41, McPherson 5-31, Sims 11-30, Bostic 7-16, Sanders 1-14, Trueblood 1-3, Parham 1-0. Moorpark: Mesa 20-41, Shultis 4-39, Garcia 1-2, Okechuk 1-0.
PASSING -- Ventura: Sims 8-14-0-116-3. Moorpark: Shulits 37-57-1-305.
RECEIVING -- Ventura: Karam 3-69, Herbert 2-21, Morris 2-20, Leith 1-6. Moorpark: Gant 12-120, Garcia 10-90, Hussey 5-29, Mesa 5-27, Yabu 4-28, Bradley 1-11.
MISSED FIELD GOALS -- Ventura: Stampler 41.
TEAM RECORDS -- Ventura 7-3, 4-2; Moorpark 0-10, 0-6.

Earning its second bowl berth in three seasons, the Ventura College football team (7-3) will play Golden West (6-4) in the Orange County Bowl.

Kickoff at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa is Saturday night at 5.

"It's a huge accomplishment for these guys," said Ventura coach Jon Mack. "We're excited. It's a great reward for a great season."

The Pirates were proud of a solid third-place finish in the difficult Northern Conference and were back to work Sunday, 12 hours after beating rival Moorpark in consecutive seasons for the first time in 23 years.

"We're flexing," said Mack. "We lost three games to three 9-1 teams."

All three of Ventura's losses came against Top 5 seeds in the Southern California regional playoffs. The Pirates finished tied for No. 9 in the final Southern California coaches' poll.

Golden West finished 6-1 in the American Division's Mountain Conference. It was kept out of the playoffs by a 35-32 loss to Los Angeles Harbor on Sept. 26.

The postseason pairings are No. 8 Los Angeles Pierce (7-3) at No. 1 Mount San Antonio (9-1), No. 5 Hancock (9-1) at No. 4 Bakersfield (9-1), No. 7 L.A. Harbor (9-1) at No. 2 Fullerton (9-1) and No. 6 Palomar (8-2) at No. 3 Cerritos (9-1).

The Southern California champion advances to play the winner of the Nov. 21 Northern California title game between San Mateo (9-1) and Reedley (6-4) in the Dec. 12 state championship game.

The postseason structure put in place during the Southern California Football Association's creation in 2008 includes berths for the three Northern Division conference champions (Mount SAC, Fullerton and Bakersfield), three Northern Division conference runners up (Cerritos, Hancock and Palomar) and the two conference champions from the lesser American Division (L.A. Harbor and L.A. Pierce).

In the other two non-playoff bowl, Saddleback (8-2) will play College of the Canyons (6-4) in the Western State Bowl and El Camino (8-2) will play Grossmont (7-3) in the Beach Bowl.

Making its first bowl appearance in eight years, Ventura scored 15 points during a three-minute span in the fourth quarter to upend host Palomar, 39-35, and confirm a 8-3 season in the 2007 Southern California Bowl.

Dalon Brown 37-yard interception return for a touchdown with 26 seconds to play clinched Ventura College's 41-28 win in the 42nd Citrus Cup game, which relegated host Moorpark to the first winless season in school history.

The final twist of a frigid evening of fluctuating momentum came five plays after Moorpark, needing seven points to halt a school-record 10-game losing streak, took over on its own 5-yard line with 2:02 to play.

Brown was spying Moorpark receiver Chris Gant, who caught 13 passes for 128 yards and three touchdowns to push his state-leading total to 16 touchdown receptions.

"I was playing him close," said Brown of Gant. "I knew he was the favorite target."

The Raiders (0-10) season of infamy was confirmed with one final miscommunication.

"It's the small things that have hurt us all season," said Moorpark quarterback Ian Shultis, who completed 36 of 57 passes for 310 yards and four touchdowns. "I called a slant. He thought it was a fade. Just another miscommunication."

Dominic Morris ran for 86 yards and a touchdown and caught the game-winning touchdown pass with 11:52 to play as Ventura (7-3) broke a two-game losing streak to sew up third place in the SCFA Northern Conference and a non-playoff bowl berth with its first winning streak over its cross-county rival in 23 years.

Ventura, which also evened the series 21-21, last beat Moorpark in consecutive seasons in 1984-85. Moorpark had won 19 of the previous 23 meetings.

Moorpark and Ventura exchange three and outs and fumbles and suddenly the Raiders, trailing 27-14, take over on the Ventura 36.

Shultis converts a fourth and 4 from the VC 28 with a 15-yard pass to Andre Garcia.

Another fourth down conversion for Shultis, a 6-yard touchdown pass to Gant, pulls Moorpark within 27-21 with 29 seconds left in third quarter.

Gant now has three touchdown catches in the game and a state-high 16 on the season.

The Ventura College football team takes a 7-0 lead on Dominic Morris' 34-yard touchdown run on third and 1 with 13:14 left in the first quarter.

UPDATE: Ventura takes a 21-0 lead on Sims 11-yard touchdown pass to Nick Karam and 2-yard touchdown run by Kraig McPherson with 4:25 left first half.

Ventura takes the kickoff and goes three and out with quarterback Antavius Sims throwing incomplete on third down.

Vying to break its 10-game winning streak, Moorpark drives 69 yards to the VC 6-yard line with three Ian Shultis completions to Chris Gant and Jonathan Mesa.

But a penalty and two negative plays are followed by a 41-yard missed field goal as the air goes out of the balloon for the Raiders.

Ventura picks up its first pair of first downs, but the Pirates are forced to punt the ball back to the Raiders with 4:01 left in the quarter.

After a Moorpark booming punt, Ventura takes over at its 10. But Gabriel Bostic runs for 18 and 12 and Dominic Morris gains 14 as VC is in Moorpark territory for first time

Click the jump for the year-by-year history of the Citrus Cup, which is about to kick off its 42nd game at Griffin Stadium in Moorpark.

Mixed results in the second day of the "We Play Hard" men's basketball tournament at Ventura College today.

Moorpark College dropped to 0-3 with a 78-73 loss to No. 3 Antelope Valley. Two tough losses this weekend for the Raiders

In the other consolation semifinal, a 16-3 run allowed Pasadena City to pull within 72-70 of Ventura College with 6:39 to play.

But the Pirates (1-2) held on for their first win of the season, 88-82, over the Lancers. Troy Watson had 20 points and Jordan Harris had 17.

Ventura will play Antelope Valley in Sunday's consolation final at noon. AVC eliminated VC in the state quarterfinals in 2005 and state semifinals in 2007.

Oxnard trails Los Angeles Valley, 44-38, in the first semifinal. James Ennis has 10 points.

The nine losses have been a variety pack, from the early runaways to the late fourth-quarter breakdowns and tough breaks.

The Moorpark College football team is now down to its final swing, with cross-county rival Ventura looming as the willing executioner.

A win over the Pirates in the 42nd Citrus Cup game at Griffin Stadium tonight at 6 is the only escape the 0-9 Raiders have from their first winless season.

Moorpark has lost 10 straight games and 14 of its last 15 dating back to Sept. 2008.

"We've never gone into this game feeling like we couldn't win it," said Moorpark quarterback Ian Shultis. "We're just focused right now on winning this next game."

Shultis can break Farhaad Azimi's 10-year-old school mark for passing yards in a season with 343 yards. He's thrown for more than 300 yards in four of his six starts, including the past three, and has speedster Justin Bradley back from injury to go alongside Chris Gant, who leads the state with 13 touchdown receptions.

"I have great respect for their two wide receivers and their quarterback is very good at getting rid of the ball fast," said Ventura coach Jon Mack.

Suffering from a series of injuries to its powerful defense, including cornerback Travaun Nixon, linebacker Brenden Daley and defensive lineman Derrick Clune, Ventura (6-3) missed its chance for its first berth in the eight-team Southern California regional playoffs with consecutive losses to first-place Bakersfield and second-place Hancock.

"You never want to accept defeat and never want to feel good about losing but I was very proud with the effort of our football team showed last week and the character we showed it," said Mack. "I'm very proud of this team and what we've accomplished this year and the direction that the program is heading."

Mack's general assessment of the injury situation was "it's better."

"Instead of five guys watching practice who weren't going to be able to play, we have five guys watching practice we hope are able to play," said Mack. "But nothing is the same as live reps. Two weeks of inactivity is going to be difficult to overcome."

If the injured players aren't able to go, Ventura can fall back to freshman defensive linemen Tyler Williams and Taylor Ramsey, both of who played well in relief against Hancock.

While Mack has been worried about injuries, Moorpark coach Jim Bittner has been kept up at night by visions of Ventura quarterback Antavius Sims.

"That quarterback of theirs is a real pain," said Bittner. "He's a bigger threat when he pulls it down and runs with it than when he throws it, and he can throw it pretty good.

"We're worried about him."

Bittner has been surprised at the resiliency of his team, which was tied 20-20 in the fourth quarter in each of the past two games at Pasadena City and Glendale, only to stretch the losing streak on bad breaks.

Pasadena won 27-20 on an offensive fumble it recovered in the end zone while the Glendale game turned on a deflected interception.

"I think what happens with our guys, they've been in this thing and they give it a shot and something bad happens and we sort of fall apart," said Bittner. "Bad things happen in football games. You just have to play."

Yet the 54 remaining Raiders have come to practice each week to work towards that first win.

"You'd think they'd be despondent, but they're working hard," said Bittner. "They're doing everything we asked them to do. I just have to give them a different speech each week."
This week's planned inspiration?

"You can do something special here," said Bittner. "You can upset a pretty good football team and an archrival."

While deflecting history.

Cuesta knocks No. 3-ranked Ventura College men's water polo from Southern California regional playoffs with a 12-11 overtime win.

Ventura had beaten Cuesta in the teams four previous meetings this year, but were without three key players.

It led 4-2 after one and 7-5 after three.

No. 12 Ventura (6-3, 3-2) at Moorpark (0-9, 0-5)
42nd Citrus Cup game
Griffin Stadium, 6 p.m.
LAST WEEK: Glendale 41, Moorpark 28; Hancock 28, Ventura 21.
SERIES HISTORY: Moorpark leads, 21-20, dating back to 1968. Ventura broke Moorpark's six-game winning streak with a 35-13 win last year.
GAME FACTS: Moorpark is a rivalry loss to Ventura away from the first winless season in school history and the Raiders' problems are visible in the numbers. Moorpark has allowed 44.2 points per game, the second-biggest average in Southern California, and has only six takeaways, the lowest figure in the region. Ventura, however, was dominant defensively until injuries to key defensive personnel like Travaun Nixon (38 tackles, 6 ints.), Brenden Daley (51 tackles, 2 sacks) and Derrick Clune (30 tackles, 3.5 sacks). Consecutive losses to first-place Bakersfield and second-place Hancock has dipped third-place Ventura to No. 5 in total defense (258.9 ypg) and No. 10 in rushing defense (97.8 ypg). DL Tommy Stuart remains a powerhouse, leading the team with 9.5 tackles for losses and 4.5 sacks. Moorpark's passing game, featuring QB Ian Shultis (177-of-342 passing, 1,938 yards, 18 TDs, 11 ints.) and WRs Chris Gant (52 rec., 691 yards, 13 TDs) and Justin Bradley (32 rec., 473 yards, 2 TDs) give the Raiders a puncher's chance. Despite a school record in passing attempts, Moorpark's patchwork offensive line has only allowed 20 sacks. Moorpark is No. 8 in passing (259.1 ypg) and Ventura is No. 2 in passing defense (161.1 ypg). Behind RBs Dominic Morris (98 att., 475 yards, 4 TDs, Gabriel Bostic (77 att., 314 yards, 1 TD) and Kraig McPherson (45 att., 176 yards, 1 TD), plus QB Antavius Sims (133 att., 457 yards, 9 TDs), Ventura is No. 7 in rushing offense (181.4 ypg).

Here's my preview of the "We Play Hard" basketball tournament at Ventura College, which features all three local program.s

The Ventura College women's water polo team, seeded No. 10, fell 7-6 to No. 7 Long Beach City in the first round of the Southern California regional playoffs today at Pasadena City College.

Emily Allen scored two goals and Carly Clark, Olivia Hernandez, Rachel Davis, Courtney Thomas added goals for the Pirates (18-5).

Sarah Agopian's second goal gave Long Beach a 7-5 lead with 1:06 to play as the Vikings never trailed.

Ventura goalie Marissa Herold made seven blocks.

Long Beach moves on to face No. 2 Cerritos (29-1) in Friday's quarterfinals.

The Ventura College men's water polo team will open the Southern California regional playoffs Friday against a familiar foe.

The No. 3-seeded Pirates (19-4) will face conference rival Cuesta for the fifth time this season in the regional quarterfinals at Pasadena City College.

"We went over the game plan today," said Ventura coach Mark Schmidt Wednesday. "At least we don't need to replan. We pretty much know what we're supposed to do."

Postseason play is supposed to be about unfamiliar teams sizing up each other. But Schmidt isn't too bothered about facing a conference rival in the postseason considering Ventura is 3-1 against the Cougars this season, including a 13-6 win in Saturday's Western State Conference title game.

"They don't have anything in the seeding process to account for conferences," said Schmidt.

Ventura will be without drivers Michael Crowley and Michael Craft, who were ejected from Saturday's WSC title game. Crowley leads the team in steals (28) and ranks second in goals (56) and assists (23).

"He's a key player," said Schmidt of Crowley . "The game against Cuesta, on paper, he only gave us one goal and one assist, but he makes the guys around him better.

"He's always a threat. But we've been missing guys at different points throughout the season. We have a bunch of guys who score."

Ventura may also be without driver Hayden Adler, who has been stricken by the flu this week. Schmidt said that all Ventura players were told to get tested for swine flu.