Moorpark Uncovers Positive in Big Loss

At least one good thing happened in Moorpark College’s 40-22 loss to Bakersfield in a Western State Conference interdivisional game Saturday night at Griffin Stadium.

The Raiders (1-1) found that freshman quarterback Glenn Dudley can throw a little.

Dudley completed eight of nine passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns in only one quarter of action to give Moorpark fans reason to look forward to next week and perhaps provide incumbent quarterback Taj Lewis with a few restless nights, wondering if his job is safe.

Lewis completed only four of 18 for 47 yards before giving way to Dudley early in the fourth quarter.

“I just hope there’s not a quarterback controversy,” Dudley said. “When Taj was in there [Bakersfield was] bringing a lot of guys on him and putting on a lot of pressure.

“I just finally got to get in there.”

Bakersfield (2-0), ranked second in the state, made life miserable for Lewis and the Raiders, ranked 16th.

The Renegades used their trademark potent running game to beat Moorpark. Armis Stokes, a 5-foot-8 freshman, led the attack with 201 yards in 22 carries and two touchdowns.

He set up another score with a 64-yard run on a draw play.

Bakersfield took a 3-0 lead on Chad Hathaway’s 30-yard field goal with 2 minutes 24 seconds to play in the first quarter.

The Renegades went ahead, 9-0, when Stokes ran around left end for a 16-yard touchdown with 9:46 remaining in the second quarter and padded the cushion to 16-0 on a 29-yard scamper by Stokes just over five minutes later.

Stokes could have scored from the Moorpark 39 on the previous play but slipped and fell with nothing but open field ahead. He settled for a 10-yard gain.

Moorpark crossed the 50-yard line once in the first half, on the next-to-last play, when Lewis connected with tight end James Ange on a 13-yard pass play to the Bakersfield 46.

It was only the third completion in 13 attempts for Lewis in the half.

The Raiders cut the deficit to 16-8 with 11:35 to go in the third quarter on a five-yard run by Ivan McCrae and a two-point conversion pass from Lewis to Ange.

But the Moorpark celebration was short-lived.

Bakersfield answered with two one-yard runs by J’Dron London, the first with 9:44 left in the third quarter, and the second 49 seconds into the fourth quarter for a 30-8 advantage.

Dudley then replaced Lewis and marched the Raiders 90 yards for a score, hitting Rich McDonald on a 13-yard play to slice the Bakersfield lead to 30-15.

With Bakersfield ahead, 40-15, Dudley hooked up with Leodes Van Buren on a 33-yard scoring play with 2:11 to go.