Southwest Romps Past Moorpark, 30-14

The L. A. Southwest college football team is for real.

Even skeptics who regarded the Cougars’ 25-point victory over Glendale last week as a fluke had to be impressed with Southwest’s 30-14 win over previously undefeated Moorpark in a Western State Conference game on Saturday.

The host Cougars (3-1 overall, 3-0 in conference play) took control after falling behind, 14-0, in the first seven minutes and completely shut down Moorpark in the second half, holding the Raiders to 16 yards in offense and two first downs.

Jamal Anderson rushed for a game-high 92 yards in 16 carries for Moorpark--the No. 3-ranked team in the J. C. Athletic Bureau state poll--but was held to 24 yards in the second half.

“We lost to a pretty good football team today,” Moorpark Coach Jim Bittner said. “They’re probably the best defensive team we’ve faced this season. Once they got in the game, they weren’t going to be denied.”

Leading, 23-14, with less than four minutes remaining, Southwest sealed the victory when Cougar defensive back Dewayne Bryant intercepted a Corey Tucker pass and returned it 43 yards for a touchdown.

Southwest recovered an Anderson fumble--the last of six Raider turnovers--on Moorpark’s next possession. Moorpark got the ball back once more with 58 seconds remaining, but after Tucker threw an incomplete pass and was dropped for a five-yard loss, the Raiders let the last 30 seconds tick off the clock, admitting defeat.

“They just kept coming in on me,” said Tucker, who completed two of 12 passes for 24 yards and threw three interceptions. “You just live and die with the line. There are no fingers to point. Their defense was just very good.”

Tucker should know.

He seemingly spent the entire second half going backward and was tackled eight times--including six sacks--for losses during the game.

“We just executed well defensively after that first series,” Southwest linebacker Terry Dupree said. “We might have been a little too excited on that first series. We knew if we settled down, we’d be all right.”

William Jarrett’s 35-yard touchdown run with 5:14 left in the first quarter cut the Cougars’ deficit to 14-7. When quarterback Jesse Wallace (12 of 17 for 127 yards, two touchdowns) connected with Michael Stephens for a 35-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, the score was tied, and Southwest had a firm grip on momentum.

“Had we been able to get one more score early, the game might have turned out differently,” Bittner said.

Moorpark (3-1, 2-1) had defeated Southwest in each of the past three seasons.