(A headline in the sept.15, 2010 Student Voice print edition was incorrect it should have read “Pirates eviscerate Raiders in Citrus Cup 44-21.” the Student Voice regrets this mistake and apologizes.)
It was a cool breezy night in Ventura California as the 42nd annual Citrus Bowl game between the 13th ranked Ventura Pirates and the Moorpark Raiders took place.
The game started out with some big hits and trash talking which showed both teams wanted to crush each other.
The first quarter ended up in a 7-7 tie. In the start of the second quarter the Pirates began to pull away. The Ventura offense was led by quarterback Antavious Sims and running back Michael Davis.
Sims led a 78 yard drive down the field with his nifty moves and Ventura finished the drive off with a strong touchdown run by Derezek Reed.
Sims finished the game with 280 total yards of offense and running back Michael Davis rushed for 106 yards on the ground and caught seven passes for 63 yards with one touchdown.
“We had a streak where we let Ventura’s offense score four touchdowns in the span of nine minutes,” said cornerback Shane Toth.
The Moorpark offensive line had trouble blocking the Ventura defense and quarterback Dalton Botts was under pressure all game and got sacked four times which made the quarterback force some throws.
Botts finished the game with 14 of 28 pass attempts complete with 150 yards and three touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions.
Chris Gant led the team with six receptions for 66 yards and caught three touchdown passes. The leading rusher for the Raiders was Matthew Gentle who finished the game with 14 rushing attempts for seventy one yards.
Moorpark drove the ball late in the 3rd quarter but missed an opportunity on a 35 yard field goal that was wide right.
The Pirates capitalized on Moorpark’s mistakes and turnovers, putting Ventura up 35-7 in the 3rd quarter.
Moorpark fought back forcing two turnovers in the span of three minutes and capitalized on both turnovers scoring two straight touchdowns.
The final score of this rivalry game was the Ventura Pirates 44 and the Moorpark Raiders 21 which makes Ventura hold the edge on Moorpark 22-21 overall in the history of the Citrus Cup.
Ventura coach Steve Mooshagian says that they’re on the right track.
“It was a good step in the right direction but we need to continue to improve and get better each week,” said Mooshagian. “Our conference schedule will be likened to playing a playoff team every week. Ultimately to have a successful year we will have to cut down on penalties and win the turnover battle.”
Next week Ventura takes on number 2 ranked Fullerton in Ventura, which looks like to be a very promising battle for the rankings. Moorpark takes on LA Pierce College in their home opener.
