Saturday, Nov. 9, was a cold night at Griffin Stadium, as the Moorpark College Raiders football team was set to face off against Western State Conference rival Santa Barbara.
The game started with a 19-yard kickoff return fielded at the one-yard line, which gave the Moorpark offense their first look on their own 20-yard line. A 21-yard strike from Kadyn Parr to Corbin Hale on the first play from scrimmage got the home crowd going quickly.
After moving the ball down to the 10-yard line to make it first and goal, Parr found freshman running back Dameian Hernandez, who charged into the end zone for the first score of the game. This led to the first special teams blunder of the night, a missed extra point, keeping the score at 6-0.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Raiders committed their second special teams error of the evening; when Santa Barbara receiver Tyreke Fortney muffed the kick but recovered the ball and headed for the endzone for an 84-yard Vaquero touchdown. The extra point was successful and the Raiders saw their early lead turn into a one-point deficit in the blink of an eye.
Parr did it all on the next drive as he picked up 45 yards on five rushes. He led his team down the field for a crucial third and seven where he threw a strike to Rhys Kelly in the back right corner of the end zone for the freshman receiver’s first touchdown of the year. The Raiders opted to go for two but were unsuccessful when Parr’s pass which intended for Jacob Stewart was broken up. This brought an end to the first quarter with the score 12-7 in favor of the Raiders.
On Santa Barbara’s third drive of the game, they were able to pull off a fake punt and pick up 30 yards on a fourth down and three. This ultimately set the Vaqueros up for a 38-yard field goal which found its way through the uprights, pushing the score to 12-10.
The Raiders looked like they were about to score again on their next drive, but on first and goal from the Santa Barbara five-yard-line, Parr struggled with the exchange on a read option and turned the ball over. The Vaqueros took advantage of the Raider miscue and quickly scored a touchdown just before the half, snatching the lead. The game went to halftime with a score of 17-12 in favor of the visiting Santa Barbara team.
Moorpark kicked off to start the second half and the special teams woes continued. The Vaqueros were able to return the ball to their own 49 yard-line on the kickoff. This time, however, the SBCC offense could not convert the favorable field position into points.
The Raider defense forced a much-needed three-and-out. Unfortunately, the defense would not be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor on the sideline as the punt was muffed and Santa Barbara recovered. Another Vaqueros field goal added to their growing lead.
Neither team was able to move the ball much in the third quarter. Moorpark’s first drive of the fourth quarter would be different. In a drive aided by a big defensive pass interference call on fourth down, Parr was able to punch it in with a seven-yard rush to cut the deficit to only two points. Parr then found Conley Moskot for the two-point conversion to tie the game.
This lead would be short-lived, however. After trading three and outs, Santa Barbara would score a late rushing touchdown from 18 yards out. The Raiders special teams stepped up on the point after attempt, blocking the extra point and giving the offense a chance for a game-winning drive with 3:16 left.
On their final drive of the game, Parr was unable to find Stewart on fourth down and the Raiders turned the ball over. Santa Barbara would then run the clock out and win the game by a score of 26-20.
Parr, who threw for 230 yards with two touchdowns alongside 92 yards and another touchdown on the ground, shared some thoughts on the Raiders season after the loss.
“We wish we could’ve ended out on a win, but it was fun playing with these guys and just getting better with them each and every day,” Parr said.
Head Coach Mike Stuart spoke on the special teams issues postgame.
“It’s four weeks ever since we lost our kicker,” Stuart said. “You can see when we kick off, we just, we don’t have the distance on that stuff. We don’t have a PAT kicker, so it hurts.”
Stuart was optimistic that the team would have at least three kickers next year so that this wouldn’t be a reoccurring issue.
This was the final game of the Raiders’ season as Antelope Valley was forced to suspend their football team for the final match. The Raiders finished the season with a 4-6 record, and will now turn their focus to getting ready for next year.
