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Football defeats Santa Ana College. On a night of big defensive plays, Greg Davis had the last and biggest. Davis' 30-yard interception-return touchdown with 10:23 remaining proved decisive as the Moorpark College football team rebounded — after letting a 17-point lead get away, and after losing a week earlier — to beat visiting Santa Ana College 26-20. Moorpark, ranked No. 12 in Southern California and No. 21 in the state, is now 3-1. It was the first loss for Santa Ana (3-1), which came in ranked No. 8 in the region and No. 16 in the state. Davis provided the last of four interceptions for the Raiders, who also had a safety and blocked a field goal and a punt in overcoming a 304-yard passing performance by Santa Ana quarterback Michael Coulter — and did all of it with a patchwork defense making use of a number of reserves because of injuries. "Patchwork is the right word," said coach Jim Bittner. "We had linebackers in there that hadn't played linebacker, defensive linemen who hadn't played defense. We had new corners. "One minute I'd want to kill them and the next minute I'd want to kiss them. They made some big-time mistakes, but then they made some big time interceptions." Davis had the last of them, stepping in front of the intended receiver to pick off a third-and-six pass from Coulter to put Moorpark back in front at 24-20. "He ran it a couple times before," said Davis, "and the third time, I just jumped it, right from the get-go. "We were due," said Kyley McCrae, who had two earlier interceptions. "We had a couple picks, but we were due on defense. We needed one to get to the house, and Greg came up big for us." The defense added two more points by dropping Dons receiver Phillip Van Holland for a safety with 5:49 remaining, and earlier had done its part to stake Moorpark to a 17-0 lead. After Moorpark went up 7-0 on a 39-yard pass from Donald Senegal to Justin Bradley, a Roy Holmes interception set Moorpark up at Santa Ana's 29. Five plays later, Matt Gentile scored on a 2-yard run with 33 seconds left in the first period, giving Moorpark two scores in 2:30. "We've been watching film on them all week," said Holmes. "We broke it down, played like a Raider defense and came up with some big plays. "We've got a big schedule in front of us, so this win can put an edge on our shoulders." Surviving with the new players on defense, Holmes said, was mostly a matter of attitude: "We have a lot of new guys, new freshmen coming in, but if you play like a Raider, freshman, sophomore, it doesn't matter.'' Another interception, this one by McCrae, led to a 28-yard field goal by Jorge Vazquez with 8:39 left in the half to make it 17-0. "It seems like every Saturday this team comes together more," said McCrae. "We go through difficulties during practice, people not being able to practice, but on Saturday, this team just seems to mold. "The defense comes up with big stops here and there, and gets the offense rolling. This is a team effort. You can't say any more than that." But the 17-point deficit seemed to stir the Dons. They went 60 yards in just five plays to score with 6:05 left in the half on a 3-yard pass to Tim Skaggs from backup quarterback Jordan Thomas, in briefly while Michael Coulter was shaken up. They closed the half by driving 82 yards in 1:37, scoring on a 16-yard pass from Coulter to Matt Cardenas with just one second remaining. And in the third quarter, they drove 93 yards in 12 plays to score on a 3-yard run by Bryson Kelly; a missed extra point left their lead at 20-17. Thanks to big plays on defense — and just enough punch from an offense missing injured running back Daniel Mosier — that just added a little more drama to the eventual outcome. "We should charge double for people to come to our games," said Bittner. "We provide excitement — too much excitement for me."

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Football Loses to Fullerton. Jim Bittner didn't have a choice. Although, given one, the Moorpark College head football coach probably wouldn't have picked another option. Trailing by three points, the Raiders had the ball on the Fullerton 4-yard line with four seconds to play and no timeouts remaining in Saturday's clash of two teams in the Southern California top 5 at Griffin Stadium. Moorpark had already bounced four long snaps on special teams. It was one of the reasons why Moorpark, despite dominating the box score, was in such a predicament in the first place. So there was little to second guess when the No. 5-ranked Raiders eschewed a game-tying field goal to run James Clay off tackle into a wall of defenders and fell, 16-13, to No. 4 Fullerton. "Who the (heck) made that call?" asked Bittner, his tongue in his cheek while the Hornets buzzed around the turf in celebration. Bittner, of course, choose to go for a game-winning two-point conversion that eliminated defending state champion El Camino in overtime during last year's Southern California quarterfinal. And there wasn't anyone in blue and black Saturday who thought this top-5 clash should have teetered on one decision. "We could have blown those guys out of the water," said Moorpark quarterback Donald Senegal. "We definitely punched them in the mouth." Moorpark outgained Fullerton by nearly a 2-to-1 margin, 377 yards to 193. "I felt like we thoroughly outplayed them," said Bittner. Moorpark simply failed to finish, allowing drives to stall on the Fullerton 4-, 21-, 21-, 29-, 42-, 44- and 48-yard lines. "It was just mental mistakes," said Senegal, who added that he and his teammates needed to make a bigger commitment to practice during the week. "We shouldn't have been in this position." Fullerton, which led 3-0 at the half, took a 16-0 lead on Kevin Robinson's 4-yard touchdown run and Conroy Black's 25-yard return of a blocked punt sparked by a low snap. One week after Moorpark (2-1) climbed out of a double-digit, second-half hole in the waning moments of a 51-48 win over West Los Angeles, the Raiders were 4 yards from pulling out a game in which they trailed 16-0 with 17 minutes to play. Once again, the comeback was led by Senegal, who completed 14 of 20 passes for 205 yards and ran for another 43 yards.  Senegal hit a streaking Justin Bradley for a 48-yard gain to set up Moorpark's first score, a fumble that lineman Luke Geller recovered in the end zone. "The first touchdown of my life," said Geller, "and probably my last." Moorpark pulled within 16-13 on Senegal's 15-yard touchdown pass to running back Nathan Largan to complete an 11-play drive with 10:26 to play. The comeback came without running back Danny Mosier, who gained 48 yards on 10 carries before suffering a shoulder injury.  Yet heroics by Moorpark's newest two-way sensation nearly finished the job. Sophomore Kyley McCrae, a running back last season, intercepted Fullerton quarterback Jeff Fleming inside the Raiders 10, then reeled in a one-handed, 27-yard miracle catch on fourth-and-16 from the Fullerton 38 with 34 seconds to play. "Kyley is a player," said Bittner. "He made a big difference on defense tonight." And nearly in the final outcome.

Football comes from behind to defeat West LA. A football game featuring 99 points and 1,101 offensive yards might seem to disprove the notion that you win with defense. But as Moorpark College coach Jim Bittner and his team came to understand, they weren't going to win without at least a brief demonstration of the ability to stop West L.A. College. That display came late in the fourth quarter, and it was all Moorpark needed to finally pull out a wild 51-48 win over the Oilers. Mark Urbina's tumbling end-zone catch of a Donald Senegal pass with 29 seconds left — for an 8-yard score, with defender Jonathan Isaac all over him — completed a long-running comeback effort that allowed Moorpark to improve to 2-0. "Right before the play, we called a timeout," said Urbina, a freshman from Canyon Country Canyon, "and the coach came up to me and said, Go out there and make a play.' I saw the ball coming up and went up and made a play for it." Said Senegal: "Ten times out of 10, he comes down with that ball." The score came after Moorpark topped West L.A. on downs for just the second time all afternoon, setting up the winning 61-yard, 10-play drive over 2 minutes, 59 seconds. "I told the guys on the sideline," said Bittner, "that if we get this stop, we'll win the game. So do whatever you have to, but we need this stop." After getting, Moorpark finally climbed in front, after having cut a 10-point deficit to three on four occasions in the second half, only to see the Oilers regain the double-digit lead three times, usually in fairly short order. "We had the mind set of winning," said Urbina, " so it wasn't like we were getting down on each other. We were just trying to pick each other up to win this game." As you might expect given the scoreboard-busting nature of the afternoon, there were some spectacular offensive performances. Moorpark running back Dan Mosier rushed 28 times for 223 yards and three touchdowns and also had a scoring reception. "I'm a little beat up," said the 5-foot-8, 190-pound sophomore from Royal High. "It was worth it, though. We're going to celebrate this one." Senegal said it was "great to have a horse like that in the backfield. We depend on him more than ever this year. He's the man on our team." Bittner figured his workhorse would need some time to recover from the effort. "He gets so banged up," he said, "it will take us until Wednesday to get him back on the field. He gets beat up because he plays so hard." Urbina had eight receptions for 146 yards and two scores, and Senegal, after starting 3 of 8, finished 19-of-33 passing for 324 yards and three touchdowns. "You go from the penthouse to the outhouse with him," said Bittner. "One minute he's on fire, the next minute, it's Why are you doing that?' He wants to make every play. He won't give up on a play; he won't throw the ball away. "It's a joy for me to watch him, just like anybody else, because I don't know what he's going to do." Great as those performances were, they almost weren't enough because of West L.A. quarterback Ryan Rosenvall, who singlehandedly accounted for more than 500 yards. He passed for 425 yards and four touchdowns, completing 33 of 43 passes. He ran for 77 more and two scores. And, in a bizarre statistical oddity, he also completed a touchdown pass to himself — as a second-quarter shovel-pass attempt bounced off the intended receiver and back to the freshman from Sandy, Utah, who caught it on the fly and went 34 yards for a score. West L.A. led 27-17 at halftime, but that was just a warm-up for a second half that saw four scoring plays of more than 60 yards — in a little more than 10 minutes, with the last two (a 61-yard Urbina reception and an 80-yard kickoff return by West L.A's Sam Rodgers) just 14 seconds apart. So perhaps it was understandable the Oilers seemed to run out of gas. They were called for the game's final eight penalties, including two on the possession ending with Moorpark's crucial stop. Whatever the exact ingredients, the Raiders came away believing they'd authored a season-defining moment. "We're always faced with adversity," said Senegal, "and we always get through it. This is the best team I've ever played on in my life. These guys, they're as tough as nails. "This is going to carry us through the whole season. We're going to do some big things." Said Urbina: "It shows a lot of character. Definitely, we can do big things this year." Bittner agreed. "We know they're not going to quit," he said. "That's a good sign. We can build on that."

Football gets by Pierce College. Jim Bittner's 30th anniversary celebration came complete with what the Moorpark College football coach most wanted Saturday night:. A notable growth spurt for his young squad. Quarterback Donald Senegal entered the game in the second half and threw two touchdown passes and the Raiders defense was dominant in the second half en route to a 28-17 victory over host L.A. Pierce in the season opener. Senegal took over at quarterback in the third quarter with Moorpark holding a slim, 14-10 lead, and the Raiders went three-and-out on their first two series. The third time proved decisive. The sophomore quarterback marched Moorpark on a prodigious, 17-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Senegal's 12-yard touchdown pass to tight end Aulama Lemalu with 10 second remaining in the half. Senegal's passes of 11 yards to Mark Urbina and 9 yards to Mosier, as well as a crucial late hit penalty drawn by Senegal as he scrambled out of bounds, were the key plays. The spark was seemingly ignited. Moorpark's defense chalked up a sack and recovered fumble on the very next play from scrimmage with Nate Morgan forcing the turnover from quarterback Justin Collins. Just two plays later, on the second play of the fourth period, Senegal found Simeon McCrae for a 19-yard touchdown pass that upped the lead to 28-10. In a span of 55 seconds, the lead escalated from four to 18 points. For Bittner, it was a perfect start to his 30th season as the Raiders' head coach. His youthful team is not only 1-0, it got a number of encouraging performances. Running back Daniel Mosier scored two touchdowns and rushed for 88 yards on 19 carries, Senegal completed 6 of 8 passes for 75 yards and the Moorpark defense had five sacks and three fumble recoveries. Quarterback Tyler Roberson made the start for Moorpark and went 4 of 10 for 42 yards in the first half. Pierce was led by freshman quarterback Collins, who completed 14 of 24 passes for 165 yards before being injured in the final period. The game was halted nearly 20 minutes Collins left the field by ambulance, apparently with a hip injury. Kenny Davis caught six passes for 88 yards. Two touchdown runs by Mosier and one key play by the special teams enabled Moorpark to take a 14-10 lead at halftime. The clutch special teams' play came with just more than six minutes remaining in the second period, with Pierce holding a 10-7 edge. The Brahmas were punting from their own 12-yard line when Justin Bradley raced in untouched from the right side and blocked the kick, with Donald Boyd recovering for Moorpark at the 9-yard-line. On first-and-goal, Mosier busted through up the middle to score the touchdown with 5:45 left in the half. Earlier, Mosier tallied Moorpark's first touchdown of the season, finishing off a seven-play, 63-yard drive with a 13-yard scoring run with 5:39 remaining in the first quarter. Pierce quickly responded. The Brahmas countered with a 74 yard scoring march in 10 plays, ending when quarterback Justin Collins found Kenny Davis standing wide open in the right corner of the end zone for a 23-yard scoring pass. Pierce upped the margin to 10-3 in the second quarter, thanks mostly to a 54-yard punt return by Dejaune Adams. Collins scampered 12 yards on first down to set up Pierce with a first-and-goal from the 3-yard line. But the Moorpark defense yielded just 1 yard on three plays and Pierce settled for an 18-yard field goal by Bradley Borreson. Moorpark's offense settled for 120 yards in the first half with five first downs. Pierce notched 152 yards and 12 first downs.

Football 2008 Season outlook. Moorpark College's venerable head football coach, Jim Bittner, pretty much knows what he has this season. He's just not sure when he will have it. That's the verdict when your 93-man football squad features a whopping 64 freshmen. If potential abounds, so does inexperience. The Raiders' team colors this season might be blue, black, white — and green. "We will find the players," Bittner says. "We just don't know when we will find them. Will it take one game, or two, or more? We're just not sure." Entering his 30th season as the Moorpark head coach, the 73-year-old Bittner continues to prosper with age like sharp cheddar. His teams have gone 18-5 the past two seasons, including 9-3 a year ago when the Raiders won their 12th Western State Conference championship. The apex was a heart-pounding 42-41 overtime victory in the first round of the state playoffs against defending state and national champion El Camino. Any encore features an escalation in degree of difficulty. The latest revampment for Southern California community college football has shuffled Moorpark into the upper tier of the newly constituted Southern California Football Association. Moorpark will join former WSC rivals Canyons, Bakersfield, Allan Hancock, Glendale and Ventura and former Mission Conference power Pasadena in the Northern Division. "I'm not in favor of it, but that's what the powers-to-be wanted," said Bittner. "They've created an "A" Division, where we're all going to beat up on each other. It's going to be awfully tough to win nine or 10 games anymore. If you can win seven, you're probably in good shape." Moorpark opens its season Saturday with a non-conference road game against longtime adversary L.A. Pierce. Kickoff is 7 p.m. If it's not exactly must-win night right out of the chute, it is a can't-stumble game. "We can't afford to lose this game and think about the playoffs," said Bittner. "We've got too many tough games in front of us." Moorpark will start out with a youthful slant. Then again, it has no choice. Last year's experienced team graduated eight sophomores onto Division I rosters, including receivers Conrad Meadows and Daniel Wolverton, linebacker Alex Hoffman and safety Wiston Juene. Freshman starting quarterback Bryan Randolph accepted a scholarship to Sam Houston State. Two other freshman slated for key roles this season aren't playing. Running back James Xavier Walker isn't carrying enough class credits and will help coach instead. Linebacker Daniel Vass-Goosby has elected not to play football. So, the retooling begins. Seven starters return, including just three on offense. And one of those was a part-time starter two seasons ago. Former Royal High star and Marmonte League Player of the Year Daniel Mosier spent last year rehabbing his sore knee and returns at running back. "He's looking very good," said Bittner. "We're excited to have him back." Sophomore center Steven Josker, regarded among the top community college linemen in the nation, and sophomore Andres Vasquez will anchor the offensive line. Otherwise, it's a lineup stressing open competition. Freshman Tyler Roberson from L.A. Baptist was the early choice as the starting quarterback, but now faces a brisk challenge from sophomore Donald Senegal. Each got a long look during last Friday's scrimmage against El Camino, and both might play in the season opener. "They both looked good at times," said Bittner. "We're looking for the guy who is the most consistent." Bittner said team numbers are lopsided. "We've got 15 wide receivers on our roster, 12 defensive backs and nine defensive lineman," said Bittner. "But we're light on offensive linemen and linebackers. Nowadays, the four-year colleges are snatching up all the offensive linemen." Sophomore James Clay, a sturdy 225-pounder from Glendale High, will team with Mosier to provide a potent 1-2 punch.  Freshman tight end Aulama Lemalu from Camarillo High weighs in at 250 pounds and should excel as a blocker and receiver. Ken Kawamoto (Camarillo) and Curtis Peterson (Westlake) are among the possibilities at wide receiver. Freshman Dillion Brockert (Thousand Oaks) should help shore up the offensive line. Bittner thinks his defense is capable at playing at a high level in week one, led by key returnees. Paden Hart (Grace Brethren) is back to start defensive end. Cornerback Royal Holmes returns to anchor the secondary. Several new faces should impact the defense: Chance Flaaten (Newbury Park) and Jarrell Holland (Taft) should be fixtures at linebacker. Cornerback Evan Yabu (Thousand Oaks) and safety Jordyn Aupiu (Rio Mesa) have impressed coaches with their range and coverage skills. In the defense's first test, a scrimmage last Friday vs. El Camino, Bittner gave the unit mixed reviews. "We played very well against the pass," he said. "We didn't do so well against the run. We know what we need to work on before our first game."