The last six seconds were the most heartbreaking moments for the Moorpark College Raiders as they got their field goal attempt blocked by the College of the Canyons Cougars in the game on Friday, Oct. 27. The final score as a result of the Cougars last minute comeback was 21-20.
The Raiders looked poised to make a comeback after the Cougars scored off of a 37 yard touchdown pass with 3:08 left in the game. The Raiders got 75 yards in 2:40 to give them the touchdown with six seconds left. But the Raiders ended up falling short on a defensive stop by the Cougars.
Coach Will Thurston thought that his team was going to be in a close contested match with the Cougars.
“It was an evenly matched game, two teams that aren’t winning a lot this year playing a lot of tough opponents,” said Thurston. “So it made sense that this game was going to go down to the final second.”
This game was important for both teams since the winner would go on to be above the other in fifth place in the SCFA Northern Conference.
The game was led by Quarterback Max Leffler, who threw for 120 yards and one interception. The touchdown that gave the Raiders the momentum in the game was when Defensive Back Jeremy Lester scored a 0 yard punt return for a touchdown after the defense blocked the punt. The touchdown was in the 3 quarter and scored at the 5:37 mark to tie the Raiders up with the Cougars at 7-7.
Athletic Director Howard Davis said that the Raiders started to gain momentum after the blocked punt.
“I thought we played good. We couldn’t do much early, and then we got that blocked punt and touchdown and we played much better from there,” said Davis.
After they scored on the blocked punt, the momentum changed as the Raiders scored again on a three-yard run by Linebacker Justin Roberson. They scored two minutes and 32 seconds after their first touchdown. The game changed as the Cougars scored two touchdowns in two minutes and 30 seconds to give them the lead.
Thurston said that his team stayed in the game due to turnovers.
“They controlled the field position almost the entire game and then we had some key turnovers that allowed us to stay in the game,” said Thurston.
The Raiders have a bye week for this upcoming week but they finish off their regular season against Cerritos College at 7 p.m. on Nov. 10 at Cerritos College.
