Antelope Valley Gets Road-Tested in Opener Tonight

When talking trips, the one scheduled for today by the Antelope Valley College football team is definitely out of the ordinary by California junior college standards.

The Marauders will start the season hundreds of miles from home when they meet Mesa College tonight at 7 in a nonconference game at Mesa, Ariz.

It will be the first time in 26 years that the Marauders play on a Friday night and out of state.

Antelope Valley is coming off a 3-7 season, one of its worst under Coach Brent Carder, who is in his 26th season. And the Marauders will be facing no slouch, even though the Thunderbirds opened their season last week with a 35-7 nonconference loss to nationally ranked Ricks, Ida.

“Our scout told us it was a case of a good football team that got beat by a very good football team,” Carder said.

“We are going there knowing full well we are going to have to play well to win the game.”

Last year, Mesa traveled to Lancaster and defeated the Marauders, 36-7, in the first meeting between the teams. The Thunderbirds throw enough wrinkles into their one-back or no-back offense to leave defenders spinning.

“We use 40 to 45 formations,” said David Rice, Mesa’s coach.

“We never run the same formation twice in a row and we send someone in motion on every play.”

Mesa’s top offensive player is running back Marlon Pierre, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound power runner who rushed for 92 yards in 10 carries against Ricks.

Antelope Valley is led by sophomore running back Idanre Anderson, who rushed for more than 350 yards and caught 23 passes in 1993 but was academically ineligible last year.