Local college football: VC tangled in six-way tie; MC drops title shot; CLU loses finale
The Ventura College football team has some serious company atop the SCFA Northern Conference.
The Pirates returned to the top of the standings Saturday night with a 23-13 win over visiting College of the Canyons at the VC Sportsplex.
The win, and the night’s two other results, helped create a wild tie atop the standings with one week to play. All six teams in the conference are tied at 2-2.
“It fell into place,” Ventura College head coach Steve Mooshagian said. “The league is very even.”
Ventura (6-3, 2-2) will break out the tiebreaker scenarios ahead of this weekend’s regular-season finale at East Los Angeles (5-4, 2-2)
“We just have to control what we can control,” Mooshagian said. “We put ourselves back in it, now we just have to finish.”
More: Mooshagian returns for VC win; MC wins 3rd straight; CLU loses
Freshman quarterback Sam Marquez threw three first-half touchdowns to stake the Pirates to a 20-0 lead inside the first 16 minutes.
“Sam is playing really well,” Mooshagian said. “He’s probably still got shades of a rookie. He has those three or four plays a game that he probably wishes he’d have back.
“But he’s a riverboat gambler, so he’s going to take some shots and the receivers are doing a really good job.”
The Oxnard High graduate hit Chris Reaves for a 34-yard score, Ja’ron Glenn for a 17-yard score and Kevin Tate for a 17-yard score on three straight possessions.
Helped by six VC turnovers and a 3-yard TD run by former St. Bonaventure High running back Koy Mortensen, Canyons cut the VC lead to 20-13 after three quarters.
Four fumbles, including two on special teams, and two interceptions kept the Pirates from putting the game away before a 38-yard field goal by L.J. Harm with 1:41 left.
“We had some other opportunities to score and found a way to stub our toe,” Mooshagian said. “We’re going to have to improve on that this week to give ourselves a chance.”
The win clinched the Pirates’ 11th straight trip to the postseason. Whether that’s a bowl game or ninth Southern California playoff berth will be determined by this Saturday’s results.
“The kids have been really responsive,” Mooshagian said. “They understand what’s at stake. They understand the magnitude of it. “
Moorpark loses showdown
The Moorpark College football team’s comeback bid in its Saturday afternoon showdown in Santa Barbara came up just short.
The Raiders were edged 28-18 by host Santa Barbara City College at La Playa Stadium in a showdown of the two top teams in the SCFA Pacific Conference standings.
The game was not decided until Alex Johnson’s 18-yard run with 1:22 to play.
Freshman River Stout caught nine passes for 183 yards and a touchdown to lead Moorpark (5-4, 3-1), which can clinch second place in the conference this Saturday with a home win over Antelope Valley (5-3, 3-1).
Santa Barbara City (8-1, 4-0) clinched the conference title despite being held to 257 yards of total offense, more than 100 yards less than its season average.
Trailing 14-0 at the half, MC twice made it a one-score game in the second half.
Royce Pao’s 30-yard double pass to River Stout and Gabe Landless’ 20-yard TD run pulled the Raiders within 14-12 with 17 seconds left in the third quarter.
Cameron Davis’ 1-yard TD run pulled the Raiders within 21-18 with 7:45 to play.
But Santa Barbara put the game away with a nine-play, 62-yard scoring drive.
Macloud Crowton completed 15 of 26 passes for 155 yards and Bennett Johnston completed 7 of 11 passes for 116 yards for MC. Landless (Royal High) ran for 65 yards and a score on 11 carries.
Linebacker Christian Cojulun (Grace Brethren) had seven tackles and 1.5 sacks, defensive end Arnulfo Morales (Moorpark High) had six tackles and a fumble recovery, and defensive lineman Ray Laupola (Hueneme High) had five tackles and a forced fumble to lead the MC defense.
CLU loses season finale
The Cal Lutheran University football team ended its season on a five-game losing streak with a 65-26 loss at Chapman on Saturday at Ernie Chapman Stadium in Orange.
Nick Lasher completed 16 of 28 passes for 201 yards, two TDs and an interception, Isaiah Martin ran for 95 yards on 15 carries, and Julio Angel caught six passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Kingsmen (3-7, 1-5).
James McNamera (Camarillo High) threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jadon Cline (Ventura High) for CLU.
Nathaniel Espinoza threw for 383 yards and five touchdowns for Chapman, which built a 52-6 lead in the first half.
Joe Curley is a staff reporter for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. Follow him @vcsjoecurley on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Local college football: VC tangled in six-way tie, MC and CLU fall
