AREA COLLEGE NOTEBOOK

It was the last thing Chuck Ferrero wanted to do, but he couldn’t ignore the obvious.

Valley College’s football team needed help so Ferrero, the school’s athletic director and former coach, was back on the field last week working with the struggling offense.

That’s normally Coach Carl Ferrill’s responsibility, but he is too ill to devote quality time to the offense, so Ferrero pitched in.

“It’s a difficult situation for all of us,” Ferrero said.

Ferrill, in his second season with the Monarchs, is trying to finish the season before undergoing surgery for prostate cancer. He also needs surgery to repair knee ligaments torn in Valley’s opener, when he was run over by players.

“Carl is trying as hard as he can, but the guy is just too sick,” Ferrero said.

Valley (0-2) lost to Grossmont, 35-10, on Saturday after trailing, 7-3, at halftime. The Monarchs had three turnovers in the second half that led to Grossmont scores, including two deep in their territory.

The Monarchs dropped their opener to Harbor, 33-26, two weeks ago. They lost four fumbles and dropped six passes, giving the defense poor field position.

“It’s like two football teams,” Ferrero said. “[The offense] is light years behind.”

Ferrero said he’ll continue to help whenever possible, although most likely not on the field.

*

Two games into the season and the old running instincts are coming back for Ray Carmel.

Carmel rushed for 201 yards and two touchdowns in 28 carries in Moorpark’s 29-9 victory at West L.A. on Saturday.

The sophomore, who played cornerback last season, had not played tailback since his senior season at Channel Islands High three years ago.

“He’s real fast and he’s starting to see the running lanes now,” Coach Jim Bittner said.

The Raiders (1-1) bounced back after a 21-6 loss to Chaffey in the opener with good execution. They had good field position all game and did not commit any turnovers. Even luck was on their side.

“We had a punt blocked and it bounced off [a player’s back] back to the punter [Nik Lewis] and he picked it up and ran 30 yards,” Bittner said.