Glendale entered the Nov. 3 homecoming game with a one-game lead for the division crown over both Ventura and Moorpark.

A win would guarantee at least a tie for the division, however after a 27-21 home loss to the Ventura Pirates (6-3, 5-1 in conference) the Vaqs (6-3, 5-1 in conference) drop into a three-way tie.

“You can’t win them all,” said head coach John Cicuto.

After giving up 27 points to Ventura in the first half, the Vaq defense held the Pirates scoreless in the second half.

“What I judged our team on was the second half,” said Cicuto. “A lot of teams would’ve just laid down, we were down a couple of touchdowns and our defense shut them out in the second half.”

The Vaqs were able to rely on an outstanding effort by sophomore safety Raymond McDonough who had three interceptions, along with five tackles. Sophomore linebacker Jason Barbic added a team high 14 tackles and a sack.

The Vaquero running game paced the offense with 206 total yards on the ground. Sophomore running back Shaun Kermah led the way with 85 yards on 17 carries. Sophomore running backs Donald Oliver and Brandon Torres both scored touchdowns on the ground. Torres had 64 yards on 11 carries and Oliver had 42 yards on 12 carries.

Vaq quarterback Michael McDonald was able to overcome two interceptions by throwing a touchdown pass late in the first half to sophomore Christopher Marshall. However, the passing game came up just short at the end of the game, failing to convert on their final drive.

The loss set up a must-win game Saturday at Citrus college, where a win would mean a tie for the division crown and a loss would be all but the proverbial final nail in the Vaq’s coffin.

If a loss would be a nail then consider Citrus the hammer. The Owls, after defeating the Vaqs 17-10, handed the Vaqs their second straight loss. This was the first time all season they had lost two in a row.