Moorpark Finds Win on Ground

Moorpark High was forced to come up with a new game plan to score a 16-7 victory over Calabasas in a Frontier League opener Friday night.

Musketeer quarterback Chad Willis sliced his right thumb on a can of ravioli last Sunday and could not practice all week. So Moorpark (5-1, 1-0) reverted to its ground game, led by Art Garcia, who had 105 yards in 21 carries, and Art Lopez, who had 63 yards in 14 carries.

“I really couldn’t get a grip on the football,” Willis said. “We came out to run the ball tonight.”

As a result, Moorpark kept Calabasas’ offense off the field for much of the game. The Coyotes were limited to 150 yards of offense and one touchdown that came with 5:40 remaining.

Calabasas (5-1, 0-1) was counting on a big night from running back Robby Coppola.

“If Robby rushes for 200 or more yards, we’ll win,” said Calabasas Coach Larry Edwards.

But Coppola’s primary blocker, his brother Drew, missed the game with either a pinched nerve or a slipped disk. He could miss the rest of the season with the injury.

In his absence, Robby, who averages more than 250 yards a game, was limited to 58 yards in 15 carries.

Moorpark opened the scoring late in the second quarter. Mark Weaver missed a 39-yard field goal attempt but Calabasas was penalized for roughing the kicker. The penalty moved the ball to the Calabasas 11-yard line.

From there, the sore-handed Willis threw a touchdown pass to Jeremy Shoop. The Musketeers led, 7-0, at halftime.

After a scoreless third quarter, Weaver kicked a 38-yard field goal for 10-0 lead early in the fourth.

Then Calabasas launched a comeback.

Dallas Enoch, who completed six of 14 passes for 110 yards, threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Bilal Hasan to close the gap to 10-7.

On the ensuing kickoff, however, Erris Green scored on a 98-yard return.

Moorpark’s Gary Stevenson intercepted Enoch’s pass on the following drive and the offense took over from there, using that ground game to run out the clock.