Jim Bittner may not be able to physically be with his team for the rest of the season. But it's impossible to strip the veteran coach's influence from the Moorpark College football team.

"We're still playing this year for coach Bittner," said defensive coordinator Mike Stuart. "Every game for the rest of the year, we're going to try to do something to honor him."

This week, as the Raiders (3-2) open SCFA Western Division play against visiting Antelope Valley at Griffin Stadium, the tribute will come in the form of an offensive play call.

"We're going to run a play that he put together 20 years ago," said Stuart. "We're going to try to make some history out of it and show our respect for him that way."

The 38-year coaching veteran went on leave for the remainder of the reason Oct. 3. Acting head coach Will Thurston said he is guiding the team along the path set forth by the program's patriarch.

"That's my role," said Thurston. "I'm trying to shepherd the team properly like Jim would have done.

"We talk about it every day in practice. Everyone is talking about coach Bittner. We're not ignoring that fact. He's with the coaches in our planning and he's with the players in their preparation."

Marquise Mouton and Company will have to be that much better this weekend, when the Moorpark College football team travels north to visit Hancock.

There's a good chance the Raiders will be without nose guard Eddy McGilvra, who suffered a pinched nerve in his neck injury Saturday.

"I think we're going to lose McGilvra," said Moorpark coach Jim Bittner. "We're going to try to get him some rest. He's a real force inside."

The Thousand Oaks High product has four tackles, including two for losses and a sack, over the first two games. Grace Brethren product Jerry McClure is expected to deputize.

The game in Santa Maria will feature some interesting matchups.

Through two games, Moorpark is second in Southern California in total defense (158.5 yards per game), while Hancock is third in scoring offense (44.0 points) and fifth in rushing offense (228.0 yards).

It was not a Citrus Cup game for the faint of heart.

The season opener with end-of-season stakes Saturday night at Griffin Stadium featured two rough-and-tumble defenses that combined for eight sacks, 21 tackles for losses and four roughing-the-passer flags.

"It was a spirited game," said Ventura coach Steve Mooshagian.

Both defensive coordinators, Ventura's Tim Hyde and Moorpark's Mike Stuart, both preach relentless pursuit and both units were unyielding, allowing just 87 yards rushing on 65 combined carries -- an average of a sparse 1.33 yards per carry.

"We kept trying to butt heads with an eight-man front with a freshman offensive line," said Moorpark coach Jim Bittner.

Ventura's Dezerek Reed and Moorpark's William Franklin may have been more effective sprinting headlong into the fence that encircles the stadium.

"It was a battle," said Hyde.

It fittingly ended with a sack, as Ventura defensive end Daniel Miller snatched away Moorpark quarterback Nick Owens' opportunity to steal the game from the Ventura 37 with no time remaining.

It was the second straight year Ventura had held off Owens with a sack in the final moments, which wasn't lost on Miller, who told Hyde lightning was going to strike twice during the timeout before the final snap.

"Well, go get him then," Hyde told his sophomore.

One year after allowing a series of defensive touchdowns in its five losses, the Ventura College football team opened the season by scoring 28 of its 31 points on returns.

"We got after them on defense," said coach Steve Mooshagian. "Not everyone can make those plays. Those aren't typical fumble recoveries."

Perhaps the play of the night was made by Ventura linebacker Marc Palacios, whose diving, rugby-style lateral set up Miller's 45-yard fumble return which put the Pirates up 20-7 in the second quarter.

"Give them credit," said Bittner. "They scooped and scored. That's something you coach."
Miller, who also scored one touchdown as a freshman, entered the season looking for two.

"One more," said Miller after the game.

After reviewing film Sunday, both head coaches accepted blame for the poor offensive production.

Mooshagian called his game plan "very conservative" and "very basic."

"I toned it way down because I wanted out kids to go out there and not think, just play hard," said Mooshagian. "I blame a lot of it on me. It was too conservative of a game plan. I underestimated their defensive front."

Bittner called the film "a comedy of errors."

"I thought we gave the game away with our fumbles, but we also made a lot of little mistakes with our blocking," said Bittner. "It wasn't that we were outmanned. We weren't in the right places. We'll get that taken care of."

Cameron Lombardo may have carved up his defensive teammates with a pair of scoring strikes, but the quarterback left the Moorpark College football team's third and final scrimmage glad they weren't on the schedule this fall.

"They're good," said Lombardo. "Thankfully, they're on our team."

Lombardo hit fellow Moorpark High product Cheldon West with a 60-yard touchdown pass and Rio Mesa High graduate DeAndre Hutchins with a 13-yard touchdown pass for the offense's only two scores of the night.

Besides that, and a pair of strong runs by sophomore William Franklin, the mock game was dominated by a veteran defensive unit that returns defensive linemen Garrett Malone, linebackers Connor Bernado, Lucas Mandic and Niall Padden, safety Steven Cristobal and cornerback Marquise Mouton and welcomes high-profile transfers Quen Kantaris (Moorpark High, Army) and Cory Elmore (Grace Brethren, Arizona) to its defensive front.

While Kantaris sat out with a hand injury, Elmore piled up at least three sacks.

"Our offensive line has a long way to go," said Moorpark coach Jim Bittner.

The Raiders' sideline included two pairs of crutches and three casts. Two of Moorpark's top three running backs, Washington State transfer Arthur Burns and sophomore Larry Looney, sat out with injuries.

Bittner nearly canceled the practice game in hopes to keep his beat-up roster fresh for Saturday's season opener against cross-county rival Ventura, but left content with the exercise.

"This is good," said Bittner. "We needed this."

They will open the season against each other with the Citrus Cup at Griffin Stadium a week from tonight.

But, before then, the Ventura College and Moorpark College football teams will wrap up their preseasons this weekend with their third and final intrasquad scrimmages.

Ventura held a "mock game" Friday night at the VC Sportsplex to prepare itself for the Saturday night experience.

"We're very business like at how we're doing it," said Ventura coach Steve Mooshagian Friday. "The most important thing tonight is you get though some of the things that happen through the course of a game, two-minute drill, goal line and short yardage, the kicking game... It's mainly just a mock game. It's not one of those scrimmages open to the public."

The Pirates, who were not ranked in the preseason state coaches or preseason JC Gridwire national polls after being ranked No. 13 in Rivals.com's national "Dirty 30" preseason poll, have been slowly building up towards the season opener Sept. 3.

"We're taking a very low-key approach," said Mooshagian. "We're being very humble."
The goal is to minimize collateral damage.

"We're not trying to beat each other up," said Mooshagian. "We're taking a very intelligent approach."

It may be early in the season, but Moorpark's veteran defense has already left a few dents on its young offense.

"We've got a lot of guys banged up," said Moorpark coach Jim Bittner earlier this week. "I think it's time to ease up a little bit.

"Nobody is out for the season, but at the same time, they're banged up to where we're going to have to rest them. I don't like resting guys right before the game's coming.

"That game's coming up awful fast."

The Raiders will hold their final scrimmage today at 4:30 p.m.

"We're going to run it like a regular game," said Bittner, who is aiming for about 60 offensive snaps. "We'll kick off, punt and try to do everything like a regular game."

The Moorpark College football team's first two scrimmages have been one-sided affairs.

"The first scrimmage, the offense looked really good," said head coach Jim Bittner. "The second scrimmage, the defense looked really good."

Which makes tonight's finale the rubber match.

Surprisingly, Bittner has already settled on a quarterback to take over for the graduated Zach Shultis, who has transferred to Cal Lutheran.

Former Westlake High quarterback Nick Owens, who led Pasadena City to a 4-0 start last fall, has taken over the reins, despite five other quarterbacks on the roster.

"He's a person that's key to our offense," said Bittner. "He's going to be our guy.

"The other guys are good too. If something happens, we should be all right. But (Owens) just adds another dimension. He can run and pass, he's as fast as any of our running backs."

They broke records and broke open games. They became two of the most effective offensive players in their schools' history.

Then they moved on.

It will not be easy for the Ventura College and Moorpark College football teams to replace Antavius Sims and Chris Gant, respectively, this fall.

It's no wonder that both schools seem to be reinventing the position within their systems this month.

Sims set school records for single-season (2,960 yards) and career total offense (4,866), and also finished his two-year career second all-time in scoring (25 touchdowns), passing (3,273), touchdown passes (24) and rushing touchdowns (25).

Ventura coach Steve Mooshagian has turned to a pair of quarterbacks to replace the Washington recruit, former Fresno State quarterback Ebahn Feathers and former University of Charleston quarterback Matt Koman, but neither will be asked to carry the type of load Sims bore for the Pirates over the past two seasons.

"I'm going to use them both," said Mooshagian. "Both are good kids. I just want them to be products of the system. I'm not going to ask them to do all the things that Tay did. If they play within the system, they'll be fine."

Feathers, a dual threat from Washington Union High, completed 2-of-3 passing for 7 yards and a touchdown and ran 11 times for 57 yards and a touchdown for the Bulldogs in 2009.

Playing under Mooshagian at Feather River College in 2009, Koman completed 33-of-67 passing for 540 yards and four touchdowns in four games before suffering an ankle injury.

"I want them to be able to manage a game, not try to win it themselves, and utilize the talent around them," said Mooshagian, who will continue to call the plays and coach the quarterbacks this fall, despite ceding the offensive coordinator label to assistant Jason Bendinelli.

Despite lining up on the periphery before each play, Gant was every bit the impact player for the Raiders that Sims was for the Pirates.

The Hawaii recruit set school records for receptions in a game (17), season (81) and career (145), as well as career receiving yardage (1,945).

"Chris was an unusual guy," said Moorpark coach Jim Bittner. "He was a guy that could catch the ball whether he was doubled or tripled covered.

"He came back after that losing season (in 2009) and he made a commitment to his teammates. You have to give the guy credit. He did a great job for us and they did
everything they could to stop him, but he pretty much had his way with everybody."

Having also lost Dominick Markham, who excelled in the last month of the season, the Moorpark receiving corps will be a completely new group this fall.

"Our wide receivers are a bunch of no names right now," said Bittner. "We don't have a guy that we can say 'This is our guy.' "

It remains to be seen if there's a player on the roster who can be that lead target, although preseason standouts include Moorpark High graduate Cheldon West and Taft High product Donnel Robinson.

The new group received Gant's stamp of approval during spring practice.

"When he was out here in the spring, Chris said 'I wish I was coming back. You have
better receivers than when I was here,' " said Bittner. "I said, 'What they hell are you looking at?' "

A few new, albeit familiar faces were on the fields Thursday when fall practice kicked off for the county's two community college football programs.

Entering his second year at the helm, Ventura College head coach Steve Mooshagian has added former Ventura head coach Terry Morris to his staff

The Pirates were 50-42 from 1997 to 2005 under Morris, the second-winningest coach in school history.

Morris goes directly to his area of on-field expertise, the secondary, to coach cornerbacks. Also the chair of the physical education department, Morris will also become the program's academic and placement coordinator

"He'll take that load off of me," said Mooshagian. "Although I'm going to still be involved, there are sometimes when I'm tied up. Now there's someone else to go to."

Morris' return gives the program three full-time coaches on campus with Mooshagian, Morris and assistant coach Gary Anglin.

"That's a plus," said Mooshagian.

Moorpark College has also welcomed back a long-time former football coach in Will Thurston, who served head coach Jim Bittner for 22 seasons from 1979 to 1999.

Former Raiders receiver and coach Curtis Marsh has also returned to the staff. His 250-yard performance against Ventura in 1991 still stands as the school record for receiving yards in a game.

"We have a good coaching staff," said Bittner. "They're working well. There's a lot of enthusiasm. We're excited about the season."

The aim has shifted for the Moorpark College football team.

Once looking to simply win a game, the Raiders are now focused for a title.

"We'd like to win the championship," said Moorpark coach Jim Bittner.

Having followed up its school-record 13-game losing streak with five straight wins, Moorpark (5-2), debuting at No. 22 in the state poll this week, is atop the new Western Conference alongside Los Angeles Harbor at 2-0.

The Raiders are wins at Chaffey (4-3, 1-1) Saturday and against Citrus (1-6, 0-2) from a potential Western Division title game Nov. 13 at Harbor (5-2, 2-0).

You'd think clinching a .500 record would be enough for a team coming off its first winless season.

"We're never satisfied," said Bittner. "I realize we've done well. With the exception of an official's call we would have six straight wins. This team has gotten better and better and better. That's what happens in Raider football."

Raider football, an endangered species in recent years, is thriving again.

"If you can bring a group together, one that's fairly talented and can play together, you have a chance," said Bittner. "That's what's going on here. The freshmen have gelled with the sophomores. We have a real football team here."

Moorpark College's defense front may have suffered a huge loss in the Raiders' fourth straight victory, 26-12 win over Antelope Valley Saturday.

Defensive tackle DeAndre Robinson, a key playmaker who leads the team with three sacks and eight tackles for losses, left the game with a knee injury and didn't return.

"He's been one of the leaders of the Raiders," said Moorpark coach Jim Bittner. "He's just been a force on that defensive line."

Bittner expects Robinson to miss the rest of the season with a ligament injury, but Robison isn't so sure.

"When I talked to him, he said, 'I'll be OK for the next game.' " said Bittner. "But I don't expect him back unless there's some type of miracle."'

After enjoying his 200th career win Saturday, Moorpark College football coach Jim Bittner spent the weekend receiving calls and cards from well-wishers.

"I didn't realize there were that many people playing attention," quipped the veteran coach, in his 32nd year as a head coach.

Bittner wanted to make sure to publicly thank his wife, Margaret, and his family, for decades of support.

"She's always been heavily involved," said Bittner of his wife, who once worked diligently on the snack bar and is now the "brownies-and-cookie person" every Monday.

Bittner told the Star Saturday that he is planning next season being his last.

"The reason I've been stuck in that situation is that I'm always making a two-year commitment to a new group of players, I did the same thing for these kids," said Bittner. "Hopefully, we can do a good job of recruiting and come up with a great team next year."

Four Saturdays ago, a last second, 17-yard field goal fluttered wide by inches and the Moorpark College football team hit rock bottom with a sucker punch of a 13th straight loss.

Head coach Jim Bittner trudged to the middle of the field at Griffin Stadium and told Los Angeles Pierce head coach Efrain Martinez that he felt his team was snake bitten.

Martinez prophetically told Bittner not to worry, saying "You're going to win some games."

Moorpark has found its antidote, responding with its first three-game winning streak since 2007.

And Ventura County's winningest football coach, college or prep, is suddenly savoring every Saturday.

"Any win is treasured," said Bittner Tuesday. "You learn to treasure them when things like last year happen."

The veteran coach has gone from wondering if he'd ever celebrate another win to the cusp of a milestone. Saturday's win was the 199th of Bittner's tenure.

In 32 years under Bittner, the Raiders are 199-128-2 with 11 conference titles, 17 bowl appearances and, in recent years, two trips to the Southern California regional playoffs.

Bittner will attempt to join San Francisco's George Rush and Cerritos' Frank Mazzotta
among the state's active coaches who have hit the milestone Oct. 16, when the Raiders visit Antelope Valley.

"I haven't really given it much thought," said Bittner. "Whether it's 200 or 199 or 150, I don't really care. I just care about the next win. That's what I'm interested in."

"This team, I still don't know ho good they can be. If we make a few improvements as we go, I think we'll be able to compete for a championship. That's what I'm concerned about."

Both county community college football teams are 2-2 entering the final non-conference games of the season and the importance of Saturday's games increase with the Oct. 9 bye looming on the other side.

"This is a very important game for us because it leads us right into a bye week," said Moorpark College coach Jim Bittner, whose team will visit Compton. "We can go right into that bye with a lot of momentum, or we can be down low feeling sorry for ourselves. It's an important game."

Saturday's visit to 4-0 Pasadena kicks off a three-game stretch for Ventura that features games against three of Southern California's remaining five unbeaten teams.

VC also ends the season against 4-0 El Camino. Its six remaining opponents are 21-3.

Moorpark College football coach Jim Bittner has never been afraid to use two quarterbacks.

So it wasn't a shock when, despite leading Moorpark to its first win in nearly two years, Zach Shultis shared the quarterback position with Dalton Botts in Saturday's 35-29 win over Santa Barbara City.

After throwing three touchdowns the season opening loss to Ventura, Botts had missed two games with a leg injury.

"I wanted to give Dalton another chance to compete," said Bittner. "I don't know how
much longer we can go on right this, but, right now, it's a friendly competition."

Both quarterbacks were effective. The duo combined to complete 17 of 30 passes for 203 yards and three TDs.

"They're both great kids," said Bittner. "They're not moaning and groaning about it."

There can't be a more agonizing way to lose an unlucky 13th straight football game.

Having battled back from 31-14 and 38-21 down in the third quarter, the Moorpark College football team was on the cusp of winning its first game in nearly two years Saturday night, until its potential game-winning, 17-yard field goal sailed inches wide as time expired.

And that wasn't the toughest part of the 38-36 loss.

Two plays before the fateful boot, Raiders running back Matt Gentle scored a touchdown on second-and-goal that was marked short of the goal line by officials.

"I saw the hole and dove up in there," said Gentle. "I guess the whole pileup confused the refs a little bit, but I was in there."

Sleep has been replaced this week by an endless loop as the sophomore replays the series of downs over and over in his head.

"I feel like the missed field goal was my fault," said Gentle. "I should have got in without a doubt."

Moorpark head coach Jim Bittner refused to criticize officials, but confirmed that the game film revealed Gentle clearly got into the end zone.

"There were a lot of things that happened in the game that shouldn't have," said Bittner. "It was truly a good game. We really deserved to win the game, but we didn't. That's one of the lessons you learn in sports."

Yet the Raiders feel the result isn't a loss, but a team that's come together.

"The chemistry is way different than last year," said receiver Chris Gant. "We don't have little groups. We're starting to come together as a family."

"The biggest thing to come out of this is they really jelled as a team," added Bittner. "They played well, especially the second half of the game."

The Moorpark College football team's second-half comeback Saturday was led by quarterback Zach Shultis, who started for the injured Dalton Botts and completed 30-of-52 passing for 340 yards and three touchdowns.

"Everyone was surprised, but I wasn't," said coach Jim Bittner. "I've been working with the guy since the spring. I knew he was completely capable.

"He's very smart and has good feet."

Botts, who completed 14-of-28 passing for 150 yards and three TDs in the Sept. 4 loss to Ventura, will find himself in a competition when he returns from injury.

"Now it's going to be a battle between him and Dalton," said Bittner.

Through two games of his sophomore season, Moorpark College receiver Chris Gant continues to be unstoppable.

The Alemany High product caught nine passes for 167 yards and three more touchdowns in Saturday's agonizing 38-36 loss to Los Angeles Pierce.

"They were double and triple covering him on every play," said Moorpark coach Jim Bittner of Pierce's defensive approach. "They made us look silly. Why are you throwing into double and triple coverage? Because, with Chris, we can.

"He puts on a show."

Gant now leads Southern Callifornia with six touchdowns in two games and has 22 on his 12-game career.

Before the season, Gant set a goal of 22 touchdowns. After two games, he's on pace for 30.

Looking through the available records, the most touchdown passes a receiver has caught in a season over the past 10 years is 17. Moorpark's Shayne Sobel did catch 18 touchdown passes from Farhaad Azimi in 1999.

Gant is also second in SoCal in receptions (22) and receiving yards (233).

"He's a Division I wideout, if he takes care of business in the classroom," said Ventura coach Steve Mooshagian after Gant's second three-TD performance against the Pirates in nine months earlier this month. "That's what I'd tell any coach that calls me about him."

The Moorpark College football team has lost 12 straight games and 16 of 17 and it's going to tough to halt the streak in tonight's rivalry game against Los Angeles Pierce.

Both teams are 0-1, but the Brahmas are coming off an impressive 52-41 loss to powerhouse Bakersfield in which they outgained the Renegades, 601-308, and enjoyed a massive 33-14 gulf in first downs.

"They actually beat Bakersfield," said Moorpark coach Jim Bittner. "Bakersfield ran two kickoffs back for touchdowns and took a ball out of a kid's hands for another score. That's 21 points right there.

"Offensively, they moved the ball against Bakersfield as well as I've seen anyone move the ball against Bakersfield."

That means the Moorpark defense is under pressure this week to improve by leaps and bounds after allowing 37 points in a 44-21 loss to Ventura last week.

"I think we'll play a lot better," said Bittner. "We were making a lot of mental mistakes that we'll probably be able to fix and we weren't tackling very well."

What's worse, an offense that showed some promise has been hurt by injuries in two key positions, quarterback and left tackle.

"It hasn't been as good as we'd like it to be," said Bittner. "It's been hectic to say the least."