Moorpark football team in action tonight against Saugus
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

Moorpark High lost the Marmonte League football title to Westlake two weeks ago. Any signs of a letdown, however, were smashed when the Musketeers cruised past Camarillo 51-21 in the opening round of the Northern Division CIFSouthern Section playoffs.

Led by Darrell Scott's six touchdowns and 15 rushes for a teamrecord 306 yards, Moorpark easily beat the Scorpions at home.

Now the Musketeers must travel to College of Canyons tonight to play Saugus (6-5). Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.

Saugus upset a favored Atascadero team last week 34-27, proving that in the playoffs, anything can happen.

"Knowing that Saugus went up there and beat Atascadero last week proves that they are a good team and a worthy opponent," Moorpark head coach Tim Lins said.

"They are a tough, physical team. They played in a tough league (Foothill) during the season, so their losses were to very good teams."

For the Musketeers to advance to the semifinal round, they will have to stop Saugus quarterback Nick Gauthier, who not only passed for 1,525 yards, but also ran for 352 yards during the regular season. "They have a very good quar

terback," Lins said. "He is good at throwing and running. Our defense is going to have its hands full with dealing with their offense."

Gauthier's favorite targets this year have been senior Kyle Monson (525 yards receiving) and junior Mario Wright (374 yards). Ryan Zirbel led the rushing attack for the Centurions with 946 yards during the regular season.

If there's one thing Moorpark knows how to do well in the playoffs, though, it's play defense.

Last season, MHS held its opponents to 17 combined points in the first three rounds of the playoffs before losing to St. Bonaventure 277 in the championship game.

Once again, Zach Trottier, Josh Butler, Jason Phan and Tyler Smith will be called upon to step up.

Although Saugus demonstrated it could score against Atascadero, Moorpark has shown an explosive offense all year long. After scoring a season-low 12 points against Westlake, the Musketeers rebounded with 51 points against Camarillo, proving their offense is here to stay.

Besides Scott's record-breaking performance, MHS proved it can move the chains through the air.

Quarterback Adam Barry was 7-of-9 passing for 90 yards. Josh Smith caught two passes for 46 yards. "It was good to see the team

bounce back the way they did from the Westlake game," Lins said. "This is a good team that wanted to continue the second season. They handled the loss well and took it upon themselves to play well against Camarillo."

The way the brackets are set up, a possible rematch with Westlake looms on the horizon if both teams advance to the title game. In the meantime, Moorpark isn't taking anyone lightly, especially a team that has already pulled off an upset in the playoffs.

"At this point everyone's a worthy opponent," Lins said. "We are going to have to play a good game and execute at every position in order to win."