Santa Monica Sets Up Valley Showdown

The showdown is set.

The Santa Monica College football team disposed of Moorpark, 35-27, in a Western State Conference South Division game Saturday night to set up a meeting with Valley for the divisional title.

Santa Monica and Valley, both 5-0 in divisional play, will meet Saturday at Santa Monica. Valley is top-ranked in the state and in one national poll.

The Corsairs (7-1-1, 7-1-1 in conference play), ranked 15th in the state, used a balanced attack to eliminate Moorpark (7-3, 6-3) from the divisional race.

The Raiders dropped to 4-2 in the south, and now must wait to see if they will receive an invitation to a Dec. 2 bowl game.

Freshman Chris Kasteler completed 23 of 33 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns, and sophomore running back John Houston had 123 yards in 26 carries with two touchdowns to lead Santa Monica.

Houston also had a 26-yard touchdown reception that gave the Corsairs a 28-20 lead with 8 minutes 22 seconds left to play.

His backfield partner, Laroy Thomas, added 92 yards in 15 carries.

The Raiders scored on their second possession to take a 7-0 lead.

Quarterback Taj Lewis connected with wide receiver Michael Streeter on a 27-yard pass play to culminate a nine-play, 75-yard drive.

Santa Monica evened the score, 7-7, early in the second quarter on a 15-yard reverse run by Manny Desousa, who entered the game as the WSC’s second-leading receiver with 42 catches.

Moorpark then went ahead, 14-7, on a one-yard run by Gary Clemons, and the Corsairs tied it, 14-14, on a 12-yard slant pass from Kasteler to Bo Parks.

Moorpark got a 35-yard field goal from Tim Wolleck for a 17-14 halftime lead.

Wolleck added a 44-yard field goal in the third quarter that gave the Raiders a 20-14 cushion.

Houston brought Santa Monica back with a two-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

He then caught the 26-yard touchdown pass from Kasteler before scoring on a 35-yard run that put Santa Monica ahead, 35-20.

Lewis completed 11 of 22 for 192 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He hooked up with Zack Sutton on a 15-yard touchdown pass play for the final score of the evening.