An all-out aerial assault powered Pacifica Tritons football in its season opener with the West Ranch Wildcats.
Pacifica trampled West Ranch, 42-6, thanks to six touchdown passes from Tritons quarterback Dominic Duran on Friday night at Valencia High School.
Duran picked the Cats apart en route to a 29-for-40 night with well over 400 yards and no interceptions.
The Triton quarterback’s only headache was Wildcats defensive end Max Piccolino. The junior Cat practically set up shop in the Pacifica backfield as he piled in 4.5 sacks on the night.
Thankfully for Duran, senior receiver Savion Taylor started the season off with a stunning performance.
Taylor dropped an easy would-be touchdown pass in the first quarter but from there out, he was unstoppable. The Pacifica receiver throttled the West Ranch defense with 12 catches for over 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the first half alone.
Taylor was vital to Pacifica taking a quick 22-point lead after initially trailing 6-0. The senior receiver was a big play machine as he added two 40-plus yard touchdown passes. Taylor ended the night with 17 catches for 256 yards and a trio of touchdowns.
“They’re a heck of a team and we knew that coming out here,” said Wildcats coach Chris Varner. “It shows us what we need to work on, rather than playing against a softer team, where we wouldn’t have seen the mistakes that we made. So all it’s about is improving from this point forward. That’s what pre-league is for.”
Duran also struck gold in the end zone with receivers Anthony Jacobs and Anthony Macias. Jacobs finished the day with six catches for 89 yards.
For West Ranch, senior running back Luke DePerno was a tough stop on the ground and broke free for a 62-yard touchdown run on his second touch of the day. The back made big plays but ultimately the West Ranch offense stalled.
DePerno eclipsed the 100-yard mark but the Wildcats struggled to move the ball through the air. It took a little time for quarterback Cooper Jackson to find his rhythm but Junior showed signs of improvement in the second half.
Pacifica picked off Jackson twice in the first half, including a sensational one-handed interception from Budder Aina, and limited West Ranch to just three completions.
Jackson picked up momentum in the second half, but just couldn’t put any more points on the board for West Ranch.
“I wanted to challenge them and we got challenged,” Varner said. “We got exposed in a few areas. We know what we have to work on going forward, because it’s all about getting prepared for league.”
Besides a handful of penalties, Pacifica had all the great showings a coach would want to see in week zero with solid tackling, passing and efficiency.
The Tritons will return home next Friday to host Oxnard at 7 p.m.
The Wildcats will have a short week as they are now on to Cleveland. West Ranch heads to Reseda to take on the Cavaliers Thursday at 7 p.m.
“I just want to get better, cut down on the mistakes we made,” Varner said. “It’s easy to focus on the wins and losses, but it’s a marathon, not a sprint. So we just gotta wipe this one, improve and move on to the next opponent.”
