Moorpark Surprises Ventura, 10-7 : Raider Quarterback Rotation Delivers Late Win in WSC Opener

Moorpark College has beaten Ventura in football so infrequently that Raider Coach Jim Bittner’s memory deserted him Saturday.

After his team had defeated Ventura, 10-7, in the Western State Conference opener at Griffin Stadium, Bittner said it was the first time in seven years that Moorpark had beaten the Pirates. Then again, Bittner also had said he would name a starting quarterback earlier in the week.

For the record, Moorpark’s victory was its first over Ventura since a 27-6 win in 1982, and only its fourth since the series began in 1968.

And the Raiders still do not have a single starting quarterback. They have three who alternate.

Steve Armstrong, Steve Haddad and Dan Nagelmann each played at quarterback for Moorpark (2-2, 1-0 in conference). But even with the abundance of quality quarterbacks, the Raiders didn’t take the lead until there were fewer than two minutes left in the game.

Robert Davis, who starred for Pierce in its Brahma Bowl victory over Moorpark last season and transferred to Moorpark after Pierce dropped its football program, scored on a broken draw play with only 1:33 left. Davis broke two tackles in the backfield and carried another defender into the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown.

“They pursued us very well and they played the sweep real well,” Davis said. “They made our offense sputter a little bit. But all the credit belongs to our linemen. They did it. They came through when we needed it.”

Said tackle Matt Hickman: “It was kind of frustrating because we didn’t get a touchdown until the game was almost over but we got it when we needed it. Luckily, we had Rob Davis running the ball. I didn’t get to play against them last season because I had knee surgery on the day of the game and that makes this one all that much sweeter.”

Moorpark had taken a 3-0 into the half on a 21-yard field goal by Dan Eastman with three minutes left in the half.

Ventura (2-2, 0-1 in conference) scored on its first possession of the second half, the touchdown coming on a three-yard dive by Carl Hughes, to take a 7-3 lead.

Although its offense provided the winning touchdown, Moorpark’s defense was equally responsible for the victory. Don Ott, in particular.

With about a minute left and Moorpark leading, Ventura was threatening. Pirate quarterback Russ Wideburg completed two passes, one for nine yards and another for 14, giving Ventura the ball at its 39-yard line. On the next play, Wideburg was dropped for an eight-yard loss on a sack by blitzing linebacker Ott. The Moorpark defense then forced Wideburg to throw two incomplete passes, allowing the Raiders to get the ball back and run out the clock.

“Our defense was better prepared,” Ott said. “We lost to them last year, buy we should have beat them.”

Last season, Ventura won, 20-17, on a field goal late in the fourth period. And last year, Moorpark had one quarterback.

Apparently, the three-quarterback system is here to stay for the Raiders.

“I thought we would go with Nagelmann as our starter,” Bittner said. “But he sprained his thumb in the Long Beach City game last week and I didn’t want to let the press know about it so Ventura wouldn’t know who we were going with.”

Armstrong, a freshman transfer from Army, started and was replaced by Haddad, another Pierce refugee. Nagelmann, who had started the three previous Moorpark games, replaced Haddad in the fourth quarter and led the Raiders on their winning drive.

“We decided to go with Armstrong because he has the most poise,” Bittner said. “But he has kind of a soft touch on the ball. So, when the wind started blowing hard, we brought in Haddad because he has a stronger arm. Later, when we needed to run the ball, we brought in Nagelmann because he runs the running offense well.

M-FG Eastman 21

V--Hughes 3 run (Fowler kick)

M--Davis 11 run (Eastman kick)