Moorpark’s Mustafa in Catchall Role

Of necessity sometimes the best decisions are made, and Moorpark College football Coach Jim Bittner made a dandy this week.

Bittner, looking for help at wide receiver because of injuries, switched free safety Isaiah Mustafa from defense to offense and the sophomore responded as if he had been on that side of the line of scrimmage all along.

Mustafa, a 6-foot-3 freshman, caught the only two passes that came his way and turned them into 37- and 35-yard touchdowns to help the host Raiders to a 24-2 victory over Harbor in a Western State Conference North Division game Saturday night.

They were the first two receptions for Mustafa, a former basketball star at Santa Clara High and a fine decathlete who had never played football until this season.

“Did you notice my new discovery?” Bittner asked. “I told him after the game I should have put him there sooner.”

The victory kept Moorpark (6-2, 6-1 in conference play) undefeated in three division games.

Mustafa exploited single coverage by Chris Smith, reaching over the 5-8 cornerback for the two scoring passes from quarterback Todd Preston.

The first came on a 37-yard play with 6 minutes 46 seconds remaining in the first quarter and gave Moorpark a 7-0 lead.

His second touchdown came with 11:26 left in the game when he caught the ball in the front-left corner of the end zone.

“It was a weird feeling,” Mustafa said. “I figured if I could help the team it would be fine. I was just hoping I would get in the game.”

Preston riddled the Harbor defense for 233 yards and three touchdowns, including a seven-yard scoring toss to running back Gil Carrillo in the third quarter that gave the Raiders a 14-2 advantage.

Harbor (3-5, 2-5) entered the game ranked first defensively among conference teams. The Seahawks had allowed 192.3 yards per game but gave up 388 to Moorpark.

In fact, it was the Moorpark defense, sparked by interceptions by linebacker Robert Webb and defensive back Kevin Smith, that kept Harbor in check. The Seahawks had only 110 total yards.

The first half belonged to the punters as both teams’ drives constantly stalled. Harbor had seven possessions and punted six times; Moorpark punted three times.

Moorpark finally broke through with Preston’s first touchdown pass to Mustafa.

The Seahawks, who got no farther than the Moorpark 49-yard line in the first half, got on the scoreboard with 7:59 left in the half when Michael James tackled punter Joe Lafirenza in the end zone on a fourth and 10 from the Moorpark eight-yard line.