San Marcos rallied to tie Ventura with four minutes left in the fourth quarter, but the host Cougars put together a 90-yard drive and scored with 2:18 to go and beat the Royals, 28-21, in a Channel League football game on Friday night at Larrabee Stadium
Adrian Alaniz caught a 20-yard pass from San Marcos quarterback Josh Engel and Luke Sheffey kicked the PAT to even the score at 21 with 4:16 to go.
The Royals fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter as Ventura capitalized on two turnovers.
San Marcos found its groove on offense and marched 90 yards, with running back Andre McCullough scoring on a 7-yard run. Sheffey’s PAT made it a 14-7 game in the second quarter.
Ventura expanded its lead to 21-7. But San Marcos came right back with another long drive, capped by a 2-yard TD run by McCullough.
The Royals played inspired football and tied the Cougars on the pass to Alaniz.
Ventura, however, kept its composure and scored the game winner to improve to 3-2 in league and 4-2 overall. San Marcos is 0-4 in league and 2-4.
The Royals play Dos Pueblos next Friday.