Carpinteria High football remained winless on the season with a 24-14 loss to Channel Islands in the Citrus Coast League opener on Friday in Oxnard.
The Warriors (0-6, 0-1 CCL) will look to get in the win column on the road against Santa Clara next week.
“We had our chances. Unfortunately, Channel Islands made the plays at crucial points of the game,” Carpinteria High head coach Van Latham said. “Respect to them. They made the key plays when it came down to it, and we didn’t.
“We actually gained more yardage than CI, but turnovers and miscues hurt us. We are resilient, however. Our team is disappointed, but they will continue to persevere.”
The Warriors struck first when Grant Feramisco stepped in front of a pass and returned it to the endzone for a pick-six and an early 7-0 lead.
However, Channel Islands immediately answered with a 90-yard touchdown return on the ensuing kickoff and a two-point conversion to take an 8-7 advantage.
The Raiders then came up with an interception of their own and nailed a 21-yard field goal to extend the lead to 11-7, which held into halftime.
Channel Islands kept the momentum out of the break, marching its way down the field on the opening drive with a touchdown to make it a 17-7 lead.
The Warriors responded with their best offensive possession of the night, capping off a 70-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Isaac Neri to Gabe Chung on fourth down. The score cut the deficit to 17-14 early in the fourth quarter.
The Raiders then controlled the clock on their ensuing drive, converting multiple fourth downs and finding the end zone to bring the lead back to 10 points at 24-14.
Carpinteria got out to a strong start on its next drive, but Channel Islands came up with an interception to seal the victory.
