With SAC coming off its Sept. 7 win against the Mt. San Jacinto Eagles, the home crowd was eager to see if they would stick to their run-heavy approach against the Ventura Pirates on Sept. 14.

Kicking off their first home stand of the season, the game started rough for SAC, with their first drive ending in less than two minutes resulting in a punt. Quarterbacks Noah Fuailetolo (19, freshman) and Jack Benson (10, sophomore) had a combined pass completion percentage of 50 percent before Ventura scored its first touchdown. With only 1:28 left in the first quarter, things were looking slow for Mt. SAC. Fuailetolo (19) managed to complete three of his next five passes, putting SAC into field goal range before the second quarter. SAC managed to convert the field goal into three points to keep them in range of Ventura’s lead.

The score at the half, 7-3, as SAC trailed the Pirates.

To begin the half, SAC managed to come out with more energy. SAC’s strategy seemed to be focused on getting the ball to running back Devin Miles (5) who received 16 carries in the second half.

Miles (5) was the bread and butter for Mt. SAC’s 38-21 win over Mt. San Jacinto on Sept. 7, rushing for a total of 108 yards and a touchdown. He would duplicate and improve his success running the ball posting 130 yards on the ground on 23 carries while adding another 12 yards on 3 catches. When asked about his impact in the locker room, Miles gave his insight into how he motivates the team.

“With me being a returner from last year … I feel like that’s a big stage for me and this team, to step up and be a leader and let them know I got ‘em,” said Miles.

As Miles (5) started to heat up, so did Fuailetolo (19) who completed 10 of 13 passes and scored a touchdown. Against Mt. San Jacinto, Fuailetolo (19) threw for 120 yards with a completion rate of 53 percent, and though the team had a slow start against Ventura, he ended the game with 150 passing yards and a 67% completion rate.

When asked about the switch in energy after halftime Miles explained SAC’s mindset going into the latter half of the game.

“Everybody ended up having more fun [in the] second half, and we took off,” Miles said.

Fueled by a 10-point third quarter, Mt. SAC made one hell of a comeback from their slow start against Ventura, winning 22-14.

SAC’s next game will be on the road against the Allan Hancock Bulldogs on Sept. 21 and will not have a home game until Sept. 28 as they take on the Citrus Owls.