Moorpark College football faced off against Mt. San Jacinto College on Oct. 9, looking to end their losing streak in a pivotal match.
Moorpark kept the game tight in the first half, but the wheels fell off in the second half as Moorpark lost 58-27.
The first half saw Moorpark encounter many miscues and mistakes that sputtered out the offensive attack. High snaps were a serious problem for Moorpark and caused many negative yard plays.
Despite the high snaps, freshman running back Joe Llanos performed impressively, gaining Moorpark a total of 97 yards along with an electric touchdown.
“I was mentally frustrated but I never showed that weakness; just kept playing my game and put my all in for the team,” said Llanos.
Nearing halftime, Moorpark had a crucial shot to score right before the clock ran out where the team was at the goal line with about 30 seconds left.
The first two downs saw the opposition’s front seven halt Moorpark’s run game; Moorpark had zero timeouts left and the clock was racing down.
Moorpark freshman quarterback Trevor Jungman set up the offense as fast as he could and snapped the ball off, but the play was quickly ruled dead as a Moorpark offensive lineman was called for a false start after jumping too early.
The false start led to a ten-second runoff that eventually led to the end of the half. Moorpark was one yard away from the end zone but the team ran back into the locker room down 26-13.
Moorpark coach Mike Stuart discussed the play and what the team needs to work on in those situations.
“We just have to take more pride, whether it is the running back or the quarterback, you have to give whatever you have to get into that endzone,” said Stuart. “Getting it in across the line would have made a huge momentum shift going into the second half.”
The penalty did continue to haunt Moorpark as Mt. San Jacinto came out into the second half and scored 18 unanswered points. Moorpark’s running defense struggled immensely as its opponent had seven rushing touchdowns along with 328 rushing yards.
Moorpark’s defense did improve throughout the game, however. Sophomore defensive back Cashton Haffery snagged a key interception as the Eagles were throwing a deep bomb into the end zone.
This play marked back-to-back weeks that Moorpark’s defensive backs secured interceptions. Haffery talked about how Moorpark’s secondary has been so disruptive to the opposition this year.
“Honestly, it’s been the coaching; coach Randy Stewart has done a good job coaching us up,” said Hafferty. “He put us in the right positions to make plays and read our keys. Plus, me and Mike Lopez are the best defensive backs in the conference.”
Moorpark played a crucial home game against Santa Monica on Saturday, Oct. 16 and won that game 44-41. Moorpark was set to play against LA Pierce College on Saturday, Oct. 23 however the game has been canceled.
