Canyons Held Scoreless In Fourth, Downed By Moorpark

MOORPARK, Calif. - Hoping to gain momentum from last week's shutout of Ventura College, the College of the Canyons (1-3, 1-1) football team was held scoreless in the fourth quarter, after leading for the previous three, against Moorpark College (4-0, 2-0) in a 35-28 loss for the Cougars.

The Cougars were well-balanced statistically, including stellar performances from running back Brian Stuart and wide receiver Terence Scott, but a touchdown by Moorpark in the fourth sealed the win for the Raiders. Stuart earned a No. 9 spot in the top single game rushing performances with 134 yards on 18 carries and Scott broke Tyrell Smith's record of most receptions in a game with 14 and earned a No. 7 spot among the top single game receiving performances with 172 yards.

This is the first conference loss for COC this season and it broke the 44-game conference win streak that began with game 6 of the 2000 season.

The Cougars came out with confidence against the Raiders as Stuart ran into the end zone for a seven-yard touchdown on the first drive. The good times continued for COC in the first quarter, when Andrew Miramontes hit Scott for a 39-yard touchdown pass with 1:57 left in the first and a 14-0 lead.

Moorpark returned the favor in the second quarter and blocked Chris Chalmers' punt for a seven-yard return by Moorpark's Greg Rutledge. As the Raiders were making a comeback, the Cougars were stunned again by the Raiders, at the 8:34 mark on a 80-yard pass from quarterback Cam Merril to Tony Washington. A missed PAT by Moorpark put the team down by one point, 14-13. The Cougars responded with their own touchdown by back-up quarterback Ryan Whitcomb on an eight-yard run with 2:54 left in the half. Moorpark closed in on College of the Canyons lead with nine seconds left before the break on a three-yard touchdown pass from Merrill to Conrad Meadows. The Cougars went into halftime with a 21-20 lead.

Coming out of halftime, the Raiders fumbled the kickoff and Allen Walker recovered the ball at Moorpark's 12-yard line. Two plays later Thomas Kyle was in the end zone on an eight-yard carry. With the Cougars up 28-20, the Raiders did not score again until there was under a minute left in the third quarter. On second and nine, on their own 13-yard line, Moorpark's quarterback Merril threw an 87-yard pass to Meadows. The two connected again on the two-point conversion and evened the score 28-28.

The fourth quarter became crucial to both teams, but COC struggled to get the offense in the end zone. Once again, Moorpark's QB found Shelton Banks and scored on a six-yard pass with 9:27 left in the game. On the last drive for the Cougars, the offense made it to Moorpark's nine-yard line, but could not convert on fourth and four after Miramontes fumbled the ball and the Raiders' Tyler Morris recovered the ball in the end zone.

As a team, the Cougars tallied 500 offensive yards to the Raiders 437 yards. The defense held the Raiders to only 73 yards rushing on 26 attempts.

Miramontes finished the night 23-of-36 for 269 yards and one touchdown. Thomas Kyle had eight carries for 86 yards and one touchdown. Wallace Bates led the defense with 11 tackles, nine unassisted, and Byron Bullock had 6.5 tackles and a pass break-up. Walker garnered five tackles, one fumble recovery and two pass break-ups.

The Cougars return to action on Saturday night to take on last season's second place WSC team, Bakersfield College (3-1, 2-0). Kick off is scheduled for 7 p.m.