With the most difficult football season in school history finally in the rearview mirror, the Moorpark College football team nears a fork in the road.

Coming off the first 0-10 season in school history, the Raiders can elect to remain in Southern California Football Association's top tier, the National Division, over the next two seasons or choose to step down into the lower tier, the American Division.

Schools have until Nov. 30 to make their appeal to the SCFA's competition committee, according to commissioner Jim Sartoris. Moorpark coach Jim Bittner said he would meet with athletic director Howard Davis next week to discuss the future of the program.

Asked his opinion, Bittner gave arguments for both sides before saying, "If I have the final word, we're going to stay (in the top tier) and fight."

"Recruiting is going to be a tough, tough thing (after going 0-10)," said Bittner. "But I sort of like staying where we are because at least I know the opponents.

"We have to make a quick decision."

The lower tier may seem perfect for a program on a school-record 11-game losing streak, but Moorpark, behind record-breaking quarterback Ian Shultis, was competitive to the bitter end of a winless season, tied 20-20 in the fourth quarter of losses at Pasadena City and Glendale and taking possession twice in the final four minutes of Saturday's Citrus Cup loss to Ventura with a chance to beat rival Ventura.

Plus, the talented freshmen who weathered the 2009 season would give the Raiders a fighting chance to win in 2010 as hungry, battle-hardened sophomores.

"Personally, I feel like we can compete against the teams that we played this year," said Shultis, the Thousand Oaks High product who broke nearly every Moorpark passing mark as a freshman. "I know our record shows that we didn't have the best season, but... I want to play the best teams out there and I want to stay in this league."

The SCFA competition committee reviews the schools' appeals and makes a reconferencing recommendation to Sartoris, who will make a final decision early next year.

"We just have to see who applies to move either up and down," said Sartoris. "Besides records, the competition committee is going to look at a lot of things, like the history of the program, the number of people on rosters, the number of full-time coaches

"There's a lot of inequities between our colleges and the main goal is to create competitive balance."

With that in mind, the coaches association disbanded the traditional conferences to create the two-tiered SCFA, modeled on the three-tiered structure in Northern California, before the 2008 season. This is its first round of reconferencing.

Moorpark has won 12 Western State Conference titles, made 17 postseason appearances and is just two years removed from perhaps the best two-year period in school history, when the Raiders won 19 games and made consecutive appearances in the Southern California regional playoffs.

"They have a great tradition there," said Sartoris.

Moorpark already decided to suspend its tradition-laden wresting program in August. If Moorpark did step down into the American Division, it would look like a match for the Pacific Division, which features local rivals Los Angeles Pierce and Valley. Pierce went on to win the division this fall after beating Moorpark for the first time in 25 years, 37-20, Sept. 5.

Bakersfield wrapped up the conference by winning at Canyons. Ventura wrapped up third place and a non-playoff bowl berth by pulling out the Citrus Cup late, which left Moorpark winless for the first time in school history. Pasadena wrapped up fifth place by winning the San Gabriel Valley game with Glendale.

Week 10 Scores
Ventura 41, Moorpark 27
Bakersfield 24, Canyons 9
Pasadena City 38, Glendale 22
Hancock, bye

Week 10 Standings
Bakersfield 9-1 6-0
Hancock 9-1 5-1
Ventura 7-3 4-2
Canyons 6-4 3-3
Pasadena City 5-5 2-4
Glendale 4-6 1-5
Moorpark 0-10 0-6

Week 11 Schedule

First-round SoCal playoff/bowl games - Nov. 21 (seedings based on final SoCal rankings)

Southern California Bowl at Mt. San Antonio College (Walnut), Time TBA
#1 Mt. San Antonio (9-1, Central Conference champios) vs. #8 L.A. Pierce (7-3, Pacific Conference co-champion)

American Bowl at Fullerton College, Time TBA
#2 Fullerton (9-1, Southern Conference champion) vs. #7 L.A. Harbor (9-1, Mountain Conference co-champion)

National Bowl at Cerritos College (Norwalk), Time TBA
#3 Cerritos (9-1, Central Conference runner up) vs. #6 Palomar (8-2, Southern Conference runner up)

Golden Empire Bowl at Bakersfield College, 3 p.m.
#4 Bakersfield (9-1, National Conference champion) vs. #5 Allan Hancock (9-1, National Conference runner up)

Winners advance to Southern California semifinals, to be hosted by higher seed on Nov. 28. SoCal Championship scheduled for Dec. 5 at higher seed, State Championship on Dec. 12 at NorCal champion.

Bowl Games - Nov. 21 (non-playoff games)

Orange County Bowl at Orange Coast College (Costa Mesa), 5 p.m.
Ventura (7-3, Northern Conference third place) vs. Golden West (6-4, Mountain Conference co-champion)

Western State Bowl at Saddleback College (Mission Viejo), Time TBA
Saddleback (8-2, Southern Conference runner up) vs. Canyons (6-4, Northern Conference fourth place)

Beach Bowl at El Camino College (Torrance), Time TBA
El Camino (8-2, Central Conference third place) vs. Grossmont (7-3, Southern Conference fourth place)

Ventura 41, Moorpark 28
42nd Citrus Cup game
SCFA Northern Conference
Ventura 0 21 6 14 -- 41
Moorpark 0 7 14 7 -- 28
Second quarter
VC -- Morris 33 run (Stampler kick), 13:14.
VC -- Karam 12 pass from Sims (Stampler kick), 6:06.
VC -- Trueblood 3 run (Stampler kick), 4:31.
MC -- Gant 21 pass from I. Shultis (Z. Shultis kick), 0:16.
Third quarter
MC -- Gant 17 pass from I. Shultis (Z. Shultis kick), 10:53.
VC -- Karam 46 pass from Sims (Stampler pass failed), 10:35.
MC -- Gant 7 pass from I. Shultis (Z. Shultis kick), 0:29.
Fourth quarter
VC -- Morris 13 pass from Sims (Stampler kick), 11:52.
MC -- Hussey 7 pass from I. Shultis (Z. Shultis kick), 7:10.
VC -- Brown 34 interception return (Stampler kick), 0:26.
Team stats VC MC
First downs 18 23
Rushes-yards 43-203 26-82
Passing yards 116 305
Comp-Att-Int 8-14-0 37-57-1
Sacked-yards lost 2-21 1-7
Punts-avg. 6-40.2 5-44.6
Fumbles-lost 1-1 2-2
Penalties-yards 6-59 8-88
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Ventura: Morris 15-80, Karam 2-41, McPherson 5-31, Sims 11-30, Bostic 7-16, Sanders 1-14, Trueblood 1-3, Parham 1-0. Moorpark: Mesa 20-41, Shultis 4-39, Garcia 1-2, Okechuk 1-0.
PASSING -- Ventura: Sims 8-14-0-116-3. Moorpark: Shulits 37-57-1-305.
RECEIVING -- Ventura: Karam 3-69, Herbert 2-21, Morris 2-20, Leith 1-6. Moorpark: Gant 12-120, Garcia 10-90, Hussey 5-29, Mesa 5-27, Yabu 4-28, Bradley 1-11.
MISSED FIELD GOALS -- Ventura: Stampler 41.
TEAM RECORDS -- Ventura 7-3, 4-2; Moorpark 0-10, 0-6.

Dalon Brown 37-yard interception return for a touchdown with 26 seconds to play clinched Ventura College's 41-28 win in the 42nd Citrus Cup game, which relegated host Moorpark to the first winless season in school history.

The final twist of a frigid evening of fluctuating momentum came five plays after Moorpark, needing seven points to halt a school-record 10-game losing streak, took over on its own 5-yard line with 2:02 to play.

Brown was spying Moorpark receiver Chris Gant, who caught 13 passes for 128 yards and three touchdowns to push his state-leading total to 16 touchdown receptions.

"I was playing him close," said Brown of Gant. "I knew he was the favorite target."

The Raiders (0-10) season of infamy was confirmed with one final miscommunication.

"It's the small things that have hurt us all season," said Moorpark quarterback Ian Shultis, who completed 36 of 57 passes for 310 yards and four touchdowns. "I called a slant. He thought it was a fade. Just another miscommunication."

Dominic Morris ran for 86 yards and a touchdown and caught the game-winning touchdown pass with 11:52 to play as Ventura (7-3) broke a two-game losing streak to sew up third place in the SCFA Northern Conference and a non-playoff bowl berth with its first winning streak over its cross-county rival in 23 years.

Ventura, which also evened the series 21-21, last beat Moorpark in consecutive seasons in 1984-85. Moorpark had won 19 of the previous 23 meetings.

Moorpark and Ventura exchange three and outs and fumbles and suddenly the Raiders, trailing 27-14, take over on the Ventura 36.

Shultis converts a fourth and 4 from the VC 28 with a 15-yard pass to Andre Garcia.

Another fourth down conversion for Shultis, a 6-yard touchdown pass to Gant, pulls Moorpark within 27-21 with 29 seconds left in third quarter.

Gant now has three touchdown catches in the game and a state-high 16 on the season.

The Ventura College football team takes a 7-0 lead on Dominic Morris' 34-yard touchdown run on third and 1 with 13:14 left in the first quarter.

UPDATE: Ventura takes a 21-0 lead on Sims 11-yard touchdown pass to Nick Karam and 2-yard touchdown run by Kraig McPherson with 4:25 left first half.

Ventura takes the kickoff and goes three and out with quarterback Antavius Sims throwing incomplete on third down.

Vying to break its 10-game winning streak, Moorpark drives 69 yards to the VC 6-yard line with three Ian Shultis completions to Chris Gant and Jonathan Mesa.

But a penalty and two negative plays are followed by a 41-yard missed field goal as the air goes out of the balloon for the Raiders.

Ventura picks up its first pair of first downs, but the Pirates are forced to punt the ball back to the Raiders with 4:01 left in the quarter.

After a Moorpark booming punt, Ventura takes over at its 10. But Gabriel Bostic runs for 18 and 12 and Dominic Morris gains 14 as VC is in Moorpark territory for first time

Click the jump for the year-by-year history of the Citrus Cup, which is about to kick off its 42nd game at Griffin Stadium in Moorpark.

The nine losses have been a variety pack, from the early runaways to the late fourth-quarter breakdowns and tough breaks.

The Moorpark College football team is now down to its final swing, with cross-county rival Ventura looming as the willing executioner.

A win over the Pirates in the 42nd Citrus Cup game at Griffin Stadium tonight at 6 is the only escape the 0-9 Raiders have from their first winless season.

Moorpark has lost 10 straight games and 14 of its last 15 dating back to Sept. 2008.

"We've never gone into this game feeling like we couldn't win it," said Moorpark quarterback Ian Shultis. "We're just focused right now on winning this next game."

Shultis can break Farhaad Azimi's 10-year-old school mark for passing yards in a season with 343 yards. He's thrown for more than 300 yards in four of his six starts, including the past three, and has speedster Justin Bradley back from injury to go alongside Chris Gant, who leads the state with 13 touchdown receptions.

"I have great respect for their two wide receivers and their quarterback is very good at getting rid of the ball fast," said Ventura coach Jon Mack.

Suffering from a series of injuries to its powerful defense, including cornerback Travaun Nixon, linebacker Brenden Daley and defensive lineman Derrick Clune, Ventura (6-3) missed its chance for its first berth in the eight-team Southern California regional playoffs with consecutive losses to first-place Bakersfield and second-place Hancock.

"You never want to accept defeat and never want to feel good about losing but I was very proud with the effort of our football team showed last week and the character we showed it," said Mack. "I'm very proud of this team and what we've accomplished this year and the direction that the program is heading."

Mack's general assessment of the injury situation was "it's better."

"Instead of five guys watching practice who weren't going to be able to play, we have five guys watching practice we hope are able to play," said Mack. "But nothing is the same as live reps. Two weeks of inactivity is going to be difficult to overcome."

If the injured players aren't able to go, Ventura can fall back to freshman defensive linemen Tyler Williams and Taylor Ramsey, both of who played well in relief against Hancock.

While Mack has been worried about injuries, Moorpark coach Jim Bittner has been kept up at night by visions of Ventura quarterback Antavius Sims.

"That quarterback of theirs is a real pain," said Bittner. "He's a bigger threat when he pulls it down and runs with it than when he throws it, and he can throw it pretty good.

"We're worried about him."

Bittner has been surprised at the resiliency of his team, which was tied 20-20 in the fourth quarter in each of the past two games at Pasadena City and Glendale, only to stretch the losing streak on bad breaks.

Pasadena won 27-20 on an offensive fumble it recovered in the end zone while the Glendale game turned on a deflected interception.

"I think what happens with our guys, they've been in this thing and they give it a shot and something bad happens and we sort of fall apart," said Bittner. "Bad things happen in football games. You just have to play."

Yet the 54 remaining Raiders have come to practice each week to work towards that first win.

"You'd think they'd be despondent, but they're working hard," said Bittner. "They're doing everything we asked them to do. I just have to give them a different speech each week."
This week's planned inspiration?

"You can do something special here," said Bittner. "You can upset a pretty good football team and an archrival."

While deflecting history.

No. 12 Ventura (6-3, 3-2) at Moorpark (0-9, 0-5)
42nd Citrus Cup game
Griffin Stadium, 6 p.m.
LAST WEEK: Glendale 41, Moorpark 28; Hancock 28, Ventura 21.
SERIES HISTORY: Moorpark leads, 21-20, dating back to 1968. Ventura broke Moorpark's six-game winning streak with a 35-13 win last year.
GAME FACTS: Moorpark is a rivalry loss to Ventura away from the first winless season in school history and the Raiders' problems are visible in the numbers. Moorpark has allowed 44.2 points per game, the second-biggest average in Southern California, and has only six takeaways, the lowest figure in the region. Ventura, however, was dominant defensively until injuries to key defensive personnel like Travaun Nixon (38 tackles, 6 ints.), Brenden Daley (51 tackles, 2 sacks) and Derrick Clune (30 tackles, 3.5 sacks). Consecutive losses to first-place Bakersfield and second-place Hancock has dipped third-place Ventura to No. 5 in total defense (258.9 ypg) and No. 10 in rushing defense (97.8 ypg). DL Tommy Stuart remains a powerhouse, leading the team with 9.5 tackles for losses and 4.5 sacks. Moorpark's passing game, featuring QB Ian Shultis (177-of-342 passing, 1,938 yards, 18 TDs, 11 ints.) and WRs Chris Gant (52 rec., 691 yards, 13 TDs) and Justin Bradley (32 rec., 473 yards, 2 TDs) give the Raiders a puncher's chance. Despite a school record in passing attempts, Moorpark's patchwork offensive line has only allowed 20 sacks. Moorpark is No. 8 in passing (259.1 ypg) and Ventura is No. 2 in passing defense (161.1 ypg). Behind RBs Dominic Morris (98 att., 475 yards, 4 TDs, Gabriel Bostic (77 att., 314 yards, 1 TD) and Kraig McPherson (45 att., 176 yards, 1 TD), plus QB Antavius Sims (133 att., 457 yards, 9 TDs), Ventura is No. 7 in rushing offense (181.4 ypg).

What type of effect does a losing season have on a football team?

The Moorpark College football team began the season with 94 players on its roster and, according to equipment manager Tommy Arellano, 111 players have donned the black and blue this season.

Yet, nine losses into a winless season, only 52 Raiders remain on the roster entering Saturday night's 42nd Citrus Cup game against Ventura at Griffin Stadium.

Moorpark was boosted by the return of receiver Justin Bradley and linebacker Jerrell Holland last week against Glendale.

Click here for a handy football postseason breakdown from SFCA commish Jim Sartoris.

Not that Northern Conference fans need much help:

"Bakersfield - Playoff team - Qualifies as #1 finisher, no matter their outcome in the last game. Would win tie breaker with Hancock if both 5-1 in conference.
Hancock - Playoff team - qualifies as #2 finisher, has completed their schedule of 10 games. Finished 5-1 and 9-1.
Ventura - could end up 7-3 or 6-4 overall depending on the outcome of their game with Moorpark (0-9) and would be Bowl Eligible.
Canyons - could be 7-3 or 6-4 overall depending on the outcome of their game with Bakersfield (8-1) and would be Bowl Eligible."

So Bakersfield and Hancock have wrapped up the playoff berths with consecutive wins over Ventura entering rivalry week. Hancock finished its regular season by holding off the Pirates. The Bulldogs can share the conference title with Bakersfield if the Renegades fall at Canyons Saturday. Ventura can clinch rival Moorpark's first winless season with a second straight Citrus Cup win. San Gabriel Valley rivals Pasadena City and Glendale will play for fifth place.

Week 9 Scores
Hancock 28, Ventura 21
Glendale 41, Moorpark 27
Canyons 29, Pasadena City 22 (OT)
Bakersfield, bye

Week 9 Standings
Bakersfield 8-1 5-0
Hancock 9-1 5-1
Ventura 6-3 3-2
Canyons 6-3 3-2
Pasadena City 4-5 1-4
Glendale 4-5 1-4
Moorpark 0-9 0-5

Week 10 Schedule
Ventura at Moorpark
Bakersfield at Canyons
Pasadena City at Glendale
Hancock, bye

Click the jump for the box score from the Moorpark College football team's 41-27 loss at Glendale Saturday night.

GLENDALE -- A tipped pass doomed the Moorpark College football team's bid for its first victory Saturday night.

With the two teams locked in fourth-quarter deadlock, Glendale College's Osa Aikhionbara picked off a tipped pass from Raiders' quarterback Ian Shultis and returned the interception 23 yards for a touchdown to propel host Glendale to a 41-27 victory Saturday night.

Moorpark faced a third and 13 from its own 6-yard line, when Shultis' pass was tipped by the intended receiver and settled into the waiting arms of Aikhionbara. The interception and return broke a 20-20 tie with 11:06 remaining.

Anthony Dawkins' second touchdown of the night, a 2-yard run with 3:04 remaining, and a 67-yard fumble recovery by Max Williams with 57 seconds upped the lead to 41-20.

Shultis' 9-yard completion to Chris Gant with 15 seconds left provided the final margin.

Moorpark will enter Saturday's Citrus Cup game with Ventura 0-9 overall and 0-5 in the SCFA Northern Conference. Glendale College improves to 4-5 and 1-4.

Shultis had another big night, completing 34 of 64 attempts for 351 yards and two touchdowns. Justin Bradley caught 11 passes for 129 yards, and Chris Gant had 11 catches for 133 yards

(From Loren Ledin in Glendale)

Moorpark College trails 13-0 late in the second quarter of its key game with Glendale.

UPDATE: A pair of Zach Shultis field goals has Moorpark within 13-6 at the half. Set up by an interception by Kevin Kawamoto, Shutlis was good from 31 and 20 yards in the final three minutes of the second quarter.

Keep it right here for live coverage of the Ventura College football team's bid for a playoff berth against second-place Hancock and the Moorpark College football team's bid for its first win of the season at Glendale.

Both games kick off at 7 p.m. I'll be at the VC Sportsplex. Loren Ledin is in Glendale.

We will have updates both here on the blog and on our Twitter page, which you can access by either clicking the link or using the Twitter feed down the right hand side of this page.

No. 6 Hancock (8-1, 4-1) at No. 11 Ventura (6-2, 3-1)
VC Sportsplex, 7 p.m.
LAST WEEK: Hancock 55, Glendale 27; Bakersfield 44, Ventura 14.
SERIES HISTORY: Hancock leads, 15-14, dating back to 1954. Hancock won 30-12 last year.
GAME FACTS: Second place in the Northern Division and a playoff berth is on the line. Hancock leads Southern California in rushing (240.0 ypg, 28 TDs) behind RB Ryan Anglin (125 att., 777 yards, 6 TDs) and Thomas Sua (87 att., 435 yards, 10 TDs), as well as quarterback Gunner Jespersen (52 att., 229 yards, 3 TDs). Ventura remains the No. 5 rush defense (70.5 ypg). Jespersen (93-of-161 passing, 1,529 yards, 16 TDs) has also been very efficient passing. WR Marquelo Suel (41 rec., 692 yards, 10 TDs) is the big-play target. If QB Antavius Sims (50-of-105 passing, 800 yards, 4 TDs) can't play, QB Greg Jimenez (52-of-94 passing, 435 yards, 2 TDs) will deputize. RB Dominic Morris (90 att., 431 yards, 3 TDs) and Gabriel Bostic (68 att., 278 yards, 1 TDs) support Sims (92 att., 376 yards, 9 TD) in the running game. WR Brandon Gunther (14 rec., 145 yards, 1 TD) is coming on strong alongside Nick Karam (28 rec., 379 yards, 2 TDs) and Patrick Herbert (21 rec., 214 yards).

Moorpark (0-8, 0-4) at No. 19 Glendale (3-5, 0-4)
Sartoris Field, 7 p.m.
LAST WEEK: Pasadena 27, Moorpark 20; Hancock 55, Glendale 27.
SERIES HISTORY: Moorpark leads the series, 18-17, dating back to 1968. Moorpark won 51-44 in double overtime last year.
GAME FACTS: Following its closest loss of the season, on a fumble recovery in the end zone by Pasadena's Reuben Thomas no less, Moorpark is ready for its best chance for that elusive first win. Moorpark welcomes back WR Justin Bradley and OT Eddy McGilvra. QB Ian Shultis (143-of-278 passing, 1,587 yards, 16 TDs) has thrown for 76 percent of the Raiders TDs. Most have gone to WR Chris Gant (42 rec., 558 yards), who leads the state with 11 TD receptions. Glendale's offense revolves around RBs Jorge Chaidez (98 att., 463 yards, 2 TDs) and Willie Youngblood (124 att., 460 yards, 5 TDs).

Community college football

Bakersfield 44, Ventura 14: Mistake-prone VC blown out by Bakersfield by Joe Curley in Bakersfield and 'Gades defense stifles Ventura by Jeff Evans, Bakersfield Californian.

Pasadena City 27, Moorpark 20: Moorpark comes close, but stays winless by Loren Ledin in Pasadena and PCC is learning valuable lessons by Keith Lair, Pasadena Star-News.

Hancock 55, Glendale 27: Hancock trounces Glendale by Kenny Cress, Santa Maria Times and GCC digs early hole by Gabriel Rizk, Glendale News Press.

Bakersfield clinched a share of the Northern Conference by clubbing Ventura in the showdown of the conference's last two unbeatens. In its bid for its first win, Moorpark was foiled in the fourth quarter at Pasadena. Hancock clubbed Glendale to set up a battle for second place Saturday at Ventura and a battle for last place Saturday at Glendale.

Week 7 Scores
Bakersfield 44, Ventura 14
Pasadena City 27, Moorpark 20
Hancock 55, Glendale 27
Canyons, bye

Week 7 Standings
Bakersfield 8-1 5-0
Hancock 8-1 4-1
Ventura 6-2 3-1
Canyons 5-3 2-2
Pasadena City 4-4 1-3
Glendale 3-5 0-4
Moorpark 0-8 0-4

Week 8 Schedule
Hancock at Ventura
Moorpark at Glendale
Canyons at Pasadena City
Bakersfield, bye