Football: Moorpark gearing up for game against Westlake

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After Moorpark’s 40-14 victory last week against top-seeded Valencia, I asked senior tailback Austin Edmonson whether the team will have revenge on its mind entering tonight’s CIF-Southern Section Northern Division Championship game against Westlake.

After all, the Warriors defeated the Musketeers, 38-14, during the regular season in a Marmonte League matchup.

Edmonson didn’t answer the question, but he alternated between nodding his head up and down and shaking his head side to side. He may not have wanted to fuel bulletin board material for Westlake (13-0), but there’s no question the Musketeers (12-1) have been talking about their lone regular-season loss all week.

“They embarrassed us the first time around,” senior linebacker Marc Palacios said. “Let’s hope that this one is different. Moorpark doesn’t like to get embarrassed.”

Using a past defeat as motivation can be beneficial when it’s used to rally a team together and help sharpen its focus. But it can also be negative when the bulletin board material distracts a team from the task at hand.

Musketeers Coach Tim Lins said last week he was going to embrace the attention his players cast on the loss.

“I don’t know if we’re going to downplay that,” Lins said. “I think our guys are excited to play them and get another chance.”

There’s about 30 minutes left before kickoff. Stay tuned to Varsity Times Insider for updates throughout the evening.

--Mark Medina