Moorpark High Finds Its Football Groove

A month into the high school football season, Moorpark is hoping to find its groove heading into what figures to be a relatively easy Marmonte League game Friday at struggling Agoura (0-3), which has been outscored by an average of nearly 38 points.

Every game is part of rhythm the Musketeers are trying to build because after Agoura comes a five-week stretch in which Moorpark will face three state powers in St. Bonaventure, Oaks Christian and Westlake.

Moorpark is coming off a 48-12 victory at Newbury Park, a confidence-building road win, and quarterback Grant Rohach feels good about the way things are going.

“The more preparation the better because we know there are a lot of good teams, and we haven’t looked at them all,” Rohach said. “The fact we’re playing those three late in the season, it’s nice to be able to prepare for them.”

Rohach passed for 199 yards and three touchdowns in the win over Newbury Park, completing 14 of 16. Aaron Stanton added 73 yards rushing, and Jordan Guerrero returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown as Moorpark limited Newbury Park to 186 yards.

“We played well. We didn’t have any turnovers, and that helps because we’ve been kind of fighting the turnover bug for most of the season,” Rohach said. “We’ll try to do the same thing against Agoura.”

The performance might have been Moorpark’s best defensive effort of the season, a good sign because the program has always prided itself on defense, particularly during its recent prime when the Musketeers advanced to four section finals over a five-year period ending in 2009.

“Our defense played well. They were relentless,” Rohach said. “It’s nice to see that.”

BIG KICK

David Sandler, a punter for Moorpark College who prepped at Calabasas, has been named SCFA West Conference Special Teams/All Purpose Player of the Week. In a 24-9 win at Santa Barbara, Sandler pinned the host Vaqs deep in their own territory several times, once at the 1-yard line

Overall, he averaged 44 yards on four punts.

Teammate Larry Looney, shaking off an injury, scored two touchdowns, rushing for 47 yards on seven carries, and linebacker Niall Padden totaled 10 tackles.

Moorpark faces visiting Compton on Saturday. Kickoff is 6 p.m.

“We can’t take them lightly,” Moorpark coach Jim Bittner said. “When they come together and find their playmakers, they will be hard to beat.”