Despite a strong first half from Moorpark on Saturday, the Raiders were never able to take the lead in the game and lost 60-36 to rival Ventura College at home in the annual Citrus Cup rivalry game.

Now the Raiders losing streak has extended to seven straight games dating back to last season.

The one thing that hurt both teams were penalties. Both had 13 penalties called against them for a combined 332 yards lost.

Moorpark Head Coach Mike Stuart was not proud that his team gave up yards to Ventura on penalties.

“We track penalties from writing them all down and running a gasser for each one on Monday,” said Stuart. “We by far had the most penalties all season.”

After Ventura jumped out to an early 10-0 lead in the first quarter, Moorpark came back with a score when running back Isiah Johnson broke out a 52 yard touchdown run. After the kick, Moorpark had cut the lead down at the end of the first, 10-7.

The scoring fest for both teams continued in the second quarter. Ventura capped off a 13 play, 75 yard drive that took 4:38 off the clock with a 6 yard touchdown run from running back Chris Beeson. Ventura extended their lead 17-7.

Moorpark found the end zone with 1:25 left in the half as quarterback Christian Hammack ran in from 14 yards out for the score. Moorpark got the two point conversion as Hammack ran it in. The Raiders were down by one score.

Ventura answered right back with 29 seconds left, as quarterback Ty Gangi connected to receiver CJ Pride for a 21 yard touchdown. Ventura went up by two touchdowns, 29-15.

The scoring frenzy in the second quarter stopped right at halftime when Moorpark’s Hammack capped off the quick three play, 67 yard drive with a touchdown pass to receiver Aaron Lacombe. Moorpark went into the half down 29-22.

At the start of the second half, the Raiders were able to draw within a tie, as Hammack found Lacombe again on a 32 yard strike.

This would be the final time during the game that Moorpark would be able to sniff the lead again. Ventura scored on a 34 yard pass from Gangi to his receiver Taylor Cam, making it 36-29.

Ventura scored twice more in the third quarter to give them a 50-29 lead headed into the final quarter of play.

At the start of the third quarter, Ventura kicker Jake Lanski made his third field goal of the night when he booted a 41 yard field goal to put his team up 53-29.

With 9:14 left in the game, Gangi ran the ball in for an 18 yard touchdown run putting his team up 60-29.

Moorpark scored with 3:18 to go in the game when backup quarterback Kado Brown threw an eight yard touchdown pass to receiver Jerry Gomez, making it 60-36.

At the end of the night, both teams finished with over 1000 yards of combined offense. Moorpark could not seem to stop the passing attack from Ventura, as their quarterback Gangi was 35-52 for 452 yards and 5 touchdown passes.

However, Ventura was not able to stop Moorpark’s team running attack, as the team as a whole had 238 yards on 35 rushing attempts.

Moorpark quarterback Hammack rushed 11 times for 66 yards and a touchdown. He was also 21-33 for 257 yards and two touchdowns. Hammack said that the team has come a long way in four games this season.

“Honestly, the one thing that is killing us right now is big plays and personal foul penalties,” said Hammack. “You can’t back track from that in getting big plays and going back with a penalty.”

Hammack’s most popular target on the night was receiver Lacombe who had nine receptions for 137 yards and two touchdown catches. Lacombe felt he and the team played well.

“This was our first game where I felt we played more as a team, and things started clicking,” said Lacombe. “Some things just didn’t go our way in the second half. I think it’s a building block for sure.”

Coach Stuart says he wants to implement backup quarterback Brown in the Raider offense more for the coming weeks in certain packages.

“He shows so many bright things, but we can’t put him in when we’re losing in a sense,” said Stuart. “We have to use Kado in special packages, because he does so much for our offense.”

Moorpark will look to get its first win of the season Saturday, Oct. 10 when they take on Palomar College at home. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.

Live Stream: Moorpark vs. Ventura College