Durfee Rescues Moorpark

Bryant Durfee’s interception with 50 seconds to play sealed a 23-22 victory for Moorpark College over West L.A. in a heated Western State Conference Southern Division football game Saturday night at Moorpark.

Durfee, a sophomore cornerback from Royal High, picked off Bryan Paul’s pass over the middle at the Moorpark 26-yard line to stop a potential game-winning drive that began at the West L.A. 19 with 3:38 to play.

Paul, a former standout at Moorpark High, completed two passes and scrambled for three crucial gains on the drive as West L.A. (5-2, 1-1 in division play) attempted to take the lead for the first time since early in the first quarter.

Paul’s pass from the Moorpark 45 seemed headed for Durfee from the moment of release. Moorpark (3-4, 1-1), which lost, 18-17, to Southwest last week, ran out the clock.

“Bad throw,” Paul said. “I made a mistake.”

After the game, a skirmish developed between the teams during the exchange of handshakes, but players quickly were separated.

Tempers flared near the end of the first half, when West L.A. coaches argued that Moorpark quarterback George Jones had dropped to one knee before spiking the ball.

Moorpark’s Shawn Nakamuru then kicked a field goal with four seconds to play to give the Raiders a 16-10 lead.

“He didn’t take a knee,” Moorpark Coach Jim Bittner said. “He spiked it and then took a knee.

“They’re a very talented team. They felt they had a championship team and we beat them. About time we won a close one.”

West L.A. pulled to within 16-13 on a 31-yard field goal by Greg Debolt in the third quarter. But Moorpark countered with a two-yard touchdown run by Carl Richardson in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter.

Debolt added a 28-yard field goal to cut Moorpark’s lead to 23-16, and Paul pulled the Oilers to within a point with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Tony Griffin. Paul was stopped short while attempting to run for a two-point conversion.

Emory Holmes, who rushed for 203 yards in 18 carries, ran 73 yards for a touchdown on the first play following a West L.A. field goal to give Moorpark a 6-3 lead with seven seconds to play in the first quarter.