JUNIOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL ROUNDUP : Carrillo Gives Moorpark Early Lift

Students of a sportscasting class, budding members of the media horde, dotted the stands at Santa Monica College on Saturday night.

There’s no guessing how far their schooling will take them. But if nothing else, the would-be play-by-play people learned to say the name, Gilbert Carrillo.

The 5-foot-11, 195-pound running back rushed for 150 yards, 143 in the first half, to lead Moorpark College to a 34-21 victory over the host Corsairs in a Western State Conference opener.

“Great offensive line,” Carrillo said. “We kind of struggled last week, but we really came together. All I had to do was run.”

That was easier said than done for Carrillo, who has been recovering from a sprained ankle and vertigo.

“I was hesitant about playing,” he said. “I was dizzy.”

Fortunately, Carrillo didn’t have to do it alone.

The Raiders (1-1 overall) also intercepted three passes and recovered two fumbles in controlling the game throughout.

Moorpark quarterback Todd Preston passed for 142 yards in the first half and 149 overall, completing nine of 17 with no interceptions.

After the referees flagged the Raiders for illegal procedure penalties on their first two plays from scrimmage, Carrillo went 27 yards with a pitchout, a not-so-subtle hint of the performance he was about to give.

Preston, a former Westlake High standout, soon hit Alex Estrada with a 31-yard touchdown pass to give Moorpark a 7-0 lead 2 minutes 15 seconds into the game.

Carrillo scored on a one-yard run with 8:30 left in the first quarter to make the score 14-0. He gained 41 yards on the 50-yard drive.

The Raiders had a chance to ice the game early in the second quarter, but Torie Lee was held to no gain on a fourth-and-1 play at the Corsairs 28-yard line. Santa Monica (0-2) then converted two fourth downs of its own, including a three-yard touchdown pass from Larry Elmer to Dave Snakenborg, to cut Moorpark’s lead to 14-7 with 11:15 to play in the half.

Moorpark came back on its next possession with a 40-yard field goal by former Royal High kicker Steve Prchal.

A few minutes later, after an interception by Douglas Varner, the Raiders drove to Carrillo’s second touchdown, a two-yard run with 3:20 to go in the half.

The Moorpark offense gave the would-be Scullys and Enbergs much less to jabber about in the second half.

The highlight was backup quarterback Josh Buck’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Kieling, a former Crespi High standout, with 7:07 to play.

Mario Mattison had 93 yards rushing on 12 carries for Santa Monica.

Moorpark overcame 125 yards in penalties.