Moorpark Hammers Glendale : College football: Carrillo rushes for 244 yards, four touchdowns to lead Raiders to 49-32 victory and berth in Potato Bowl.

Moorpark College fullback Gil Carrillo pierced the Glendale defense Saturday with the purposeful ease of an airborne javelin, much like those he threw last year for the Cal State Northridge track team.

Carrillo rushed for 244 yards and four touchdowns in 23 carries to lead Moorpark to a convincing 49-32 win at Glendale High in a Western State Conference finale that decided the Northern Division championship.

The victory also gave Moorpark (9-0-1, 8-0-1 in WSC play) a berth in the Potato Bowl on Dec. 5 at Bakersfield. The Vaqueros (8-2, 7-2) will be the host team in the WSC Bowl against an opponent to be determined.

Carrillo, 22, participated exclusively in track at Moorpark in 1989 and 1990 and at Northridge in 1991 and 1992. With one year of track eligibility remaining (he redshirted his first year at Northridge), he says, he fell one credit short over the summer of remaining academically eligible for track. So he transferred back to Moorpark to give football a try for the first time since he played at Simi Valley High in 1987. Carrillo (6-foot-1, 190 pounds), who rushed for 33 yards in 14 carries as a Simi Valley senior, still has three years of college football eligibility.

After falling behind, 17-7, on Pathon Rucker’s 70-yard touchdown run on the second play of the third quarter, the Raiders exploded for touchdowns on each of their next five possessions and built a 42-17 lead midway through the fourth quarter. Carrillo scored the second, third and fourth of those touchdowns and added a 52-yard scoring jaunt with 2 minutes 12 seconds to play.

“It was the most incredible game of my life,” Carrillo said. “I can’t believe it.”

Considering his circuitous route to the Moorpark football field, Carrillo has performed remarkably well, gaining 1,098 yards in 136 carries.

“Gil Carrillo is just having marvelous game after marvelous game,” Moorpark Coach Jim Bittner said.

Carrillo was nearly matched stride for stride by Rucker, who also rushed for four touchdowns and had 227 yards in 28 carries.

Rucker’s first touchdown gave the Vaqueros a 7-0 lead in the second quarter, and Glendale led, 10-7, at the half.

Moorpark was hurt by its reluctance to pass after starting quarterback Corey Tucker left the game in the first quarter because of an ankle injury and was replaced by freshman Todd Preston.

But Bittner let Preston air it out soon enough, and the move paid dividends in the second half when Preston completed eight of 10 passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns. In the game, he was 12 of 24 for 168 yards and three touchdowns.

“Games like this one, someone who doesn’t expect it, maybe doesn’t even expect to play, is going to rise up,” Bittner said he told his team before the game. “Maybe I’m clairvoyant.”

The Raider offense was aided considerably by the Moorpark defense, which forced three turnovers during the 35-point second-half run, and forced five overall.

Glendale quarterback Eric Kiesau completed 20 of 34 for 192 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. Vaquero wide receiver Keith West caught nine passes for 94 yards.

The win capped Bittner’s first undefeated regular season in 13 years as the Moorpark coach. The Raiders tied Bakersfield, 10-10, earlier in the season.

“The only business left is to go up there and erase that tie against Bakersfield,” Bittner said. “That’s going to be a full day’s work.”