JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers GOOD HANDS MAN- Moorpark High senior wideout Ryan Murry eads the Musketeers (4-2, 2-1 in league) with 458 receiving yards. Ryan Murry tries not to take any credit for his success.

"It's the offensive line blocking and the quarterback throwing," the unassuming Murry said.

"All I do is run routes."

That's hardly all he does.

The Moorpark High senior wide receiver and team captain has helped lead the Musketeers to a 4-2 record, including a 2-1 mark in the Marmonte League.

Murry, who has caught at least five passes in every game this season, will lead the Musketeers tonight against Agoura (33 overall, 1-2 Marmonte) on the road at 7 p.m.

"He's been a strong leader for us and he's been an impact player at receiver," said ninth-year head coach Tim Lins.

The only returning receiver from last season, Murry has 35 catches for 458 yards and three touchdowns. Last season, the senior had six catches for 62 yards, and played primarily during passing situations.

The senior takes pride in all the elements of his game.

Knowing he'd be counted on to produce, Murry, 17, worked on finessing his route running and strengthening his hands to try and catch anything his way- a necessary trait considering defensive backs constantly whiz by looking for a hit.

Murry said focusing, even when you know or don't know a tackle could be coming, is critical to any receiver.

That focus has translated well for the former defensive back, who by his own admission, said he wasn't fast enough to cover wide receivers as a cornerback.

After playing cornerback his first two years, Murry moved to the other side of the ball, on the suggestion of Lins, as a junior.

"I realized I couldn't play corner. You have to be much faster than a wide receiver," said Murry, who was born in the Santa Clarita Valley before moving to Moorpark in the first grade.

"Covering a guy one-on-one, I didn't have the speed."

Murry credits Lins, offensive coordinator and offensive line coach John Kidder, and quarterbacks/receivers coach Ryan Husienga with accelerating his development at wide receiver.

Murry helped himself with his own hard work in the offseason. He also takes pride in blocking for running backs or wide receivers, often thankless a job. For the Musketeer, it's all part of playing football.

Murry started playing football with the Moorpark Packers in the sixth grade, as a center.

"I was the biggest kid then," Murry said, before adding with perfect comedic timing: "I haven't really grown since then."

Murry, who plays point guard for the boys' basketball team at Moorpark, has also coached local youth basketball for the past two years and assisted with an eighthgrade Packers squad.

The senior, whose mom is a teacher, would like to study education in college. Fittingly, Murry wants to teach and coach at the high school level.

"Taking a kid who has never played and teaching him the game I love to play is a rewarding experience," Murry said. "It's great to see that click for them, 'This is how you play basketball.' Or, 'This is how you play football.' "

Murry and the Musketeers will try to break out of a fourway tie for second place in the Marmonte. While Newbury Park sits with a 3-0 mark in league, Moorpark shares second with Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Westlake.

The stretch run will certainly be a challenge for Moorpark. Three of its final four games are on the road, and the only home game is against perennial cellar dweller Calabasas.

"We're playing well, we're practicing well, but we have to kind of prove and show what we have," Murry said. "This year, with the top teams bunched together, everyone's right up there."