Big Second Half Lifts Moorpark to 30-7 Victory

Details, details.

The problem with next week’s showdown between Moorpark and Glendale colleges for the Northern Division championship of the Western State Conference is that it couldn’t take place before a couple of other games were out of the way.

Holding Moorpark up was a home date with Santa Barbara, its unfriendly rival to the North. And, for any Raider worth his eye patch, that meant a flashback to a rather unpleasant memory: a loss in last season’s division title game.

Now, however, that one can be considered a faded memory.

After a sluggish start, Moorpark dispatched Santa Barbara, 30-7, before a homecoming crowd Saturday night. The score could have been worse if . . . well, let us count the ways:

If, for example, running back Gil Carrillo had made an earlier entrance. Sidelined by a swollen left calf for most of the first half, Carrillo rushed for 127 yards in the final two periods. He finished with 146 yards and a touchdown in 23 carries.

Or if quarterback Corey Tucker didn’t bother to look at anyone other than flanker Tim Blakeley. Tucker completed 13 of 25 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns. Both touchdowns, and eight of the receptions for 137 yards, went to Blakeley.

And finally, if three other Tucker passes hadn’t been grabbed by Santa Barbara cornerback Ross Headley. Two of Headley’s interceptions were in the end zone.

As it was, Moorpark (8-0-1 overall, 4-0 in divisional play) gained 451 yards to Santa Barbara’s 234 and, for the seventh time this season, the Raiders kept their opposition from scoring in double digits.

Santa Barbara’s only touchdown came midway through the third period on a 16-yard pass from Ben Fausset to Ed Gallegos that cut Moorpark’s lead to 13-7.

The Raiders, winners of four in a row, then shifted into overdrive. After the Moorpark defense buried Santa Barbara deep in its own territory on its next possession, punt returner Nick Estrada provided the spark the Raiders needed.

Catching the ball at the Moorpark 45, Estrada escaped from three defenders and broke free up the middle, scrambling all the way to the Santa Barbara 10 before he was hauled down from behind.

On the next play, Tucker hit Blakeley on a 10-yard scoring pass. Brian Balleweg’s point-after made it 20-7 and the rout was on.

From then on, the ball stayed neatly tucked away in Carrillo’s possession. Balleweg added a 22-yard field goal with 7 minutes 16 seconds left on a drive that was all but owned by Moorpark’s freshman fullback, then Carrillo sealed the win with a late touchdown.

“Once I got in the game and got the adrenaline going, I didn’t feel anything,” Carrillo said of his calf injury.

That much was apparent, particularly as the game progressed. Carrillo gained 27 yards on Moorpark’s final scoring drive, which ended with Carrillo diving in from a yard out for the touchdown.

This after a first half during which he carried only three times for 19 yards.

Moorpark’s first-half touchdown was all but given away, coming on a 20-yard pass from Tucker to Blakeley. But Santa Barbara’s frozen defense provided a big assist.

The Vaqueros obviously were offsides on the play, but instead of continuing on when the whistle blew Santa Barbara defenders eased up and Tucker zipped the ball to Blakeley on a quick slant pattern.