After missing two weeks with a mild concussion, Moorpark quarterback Ben Conlin has returned to practice. The Westlake High product led the Raiders to the 23-20 overtime win at Orange Coast on Sept. 1.

"I'm good to go," Conlin said.

Both Ventura stars missing in Saturday's dramatic win, running back Victor Caro Jr. (turf toe) and linebacker P.J. Gremaud (shoulder), returned to practice Monday.

"This is the healthiest we've been since Riverside," Mooshagian said.

Thurston singled out sophomore Brent Stevens, who took over the quarterback role Thursday after starter Ben Conlin felt the affects of a concussion sustained in the season-opening win at Orange Coast.

"That was tough for him coming in on a Thursday and discover he was going to be the starting quarterback," Thurston said. "He's got to get a nod of appreciation there."

Conlin said Tuesday that he felt close to "being cleared," but Thurston isn't expecting him back until next week's trip to Hancock. Which means Stevens will get a chance Saturday to show his capabilities after a full week of preparation.

"Brent's had a full week under his bel, so now it's a little bit different," Thurston said.

Not a great month to be a local running back. Mooshagian said Ventura running back Victor Caro Jr., who missed Saturday's game with turf toe, "is getting closer" to returning.

Thurston said Moorpark running back Jonathan Williams, who suffered a knee sprain in the second quarter Saturday, has been ruled out of Saturday's visit by Santa Ana.

Ventura safety Scotty Wong, however, has already returned to practice after missing one game.

Despite the 1-0 loss to Fresno that snapped its 11-game unbeaten streak and 18-game home unbeaten streak, the Fusion clinched its fourth straight postseason berth late Wednesday when Ogden lost 3-1 at BYU.

Ventura County will clinch its second Southwest Division title with FC Tucson's next lost, which could come this weekend.

It looks like the Fusion could use a relaxed week entering the final week of regular season play. It will be monitoring injuries to winger Kennedy Chongo, striker Gyasi Zardes and striker Travis Bowen.

Chongo has not played since suffering a dead leg in the 4-0 win over Orange County June 27. Bowen hasn't played since suffering a groin strain in the first half of the 2-0 win at FC Tucson June 30.

Zardes suffered a dead leg in the second half of Wednesday's 1-0 loss to Fresno, which broke the Fusion's 11-game unbeaten streak and 19-game home unbeaten streak.

"I took a nasty hit," said Zardes. "Right now, I'm just rehabbing it. I'm going through a bit of pain."

All three are in doubt for the final two regular season matches, Wednesday at Pali Blues and Friday at home against BYU Cougars.

Coming out of the bye, Ventura College football coach Steve Mooshagian proclaimed his team as healthy as it was entering the season opener last month.

"The best thing for us right now is we're very healthy," said Mooshagian. "We haven't had very many injuries."

Ventura has adapted to its gauntlet of a schedule by working on its depth.

"One thing I learned from a year ago is that you need to have two guys at every position to be able to withstand the schedule that we play," said Mooshagian. "I think that's going to help us, our health and our depth."

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).

Sam Hayden, the UC Santa Barbara goalkeeper who has allowed 0.382 goals per game and made 24 saves in six appearances this season, suffered a concussion Thursday and has yet to be cleared medically for the Fusion's trip to play the Los Angeles Blues at Palisades High.

Not to be confused with the club's professional side, which knocked the Fusion out of the U.S. Open Cup last month, the Blues PDL team is 3-6-2 and sits in fifth place in the Southwestern Division.

The Fusion have already taken four points from the Blues, winning 4-0 at home May 13 and drawing 1-1 on the road June 2.

Because of school commitments, the Fusion will be missing its UCLA contingent of midfielder Andy Rose, forward Reed Williams, fullback Shawn Singh and fullback Matt Weit for its Utah trip. Winger David Walker was also unable to make the trip because of work.

Those holes will create opportunity. Defender Micky Daley could return to the side after recovering from a hamstring injury. Tall, speedy forward Gyasi Zardes, a Cal State Bakersfield sophomore who looked promising in a five-minute debut Tuesday, is also on the trip.

"He only played five minutes last night but he looked good," said Fusion general manager Ranbir Shergill. "He's going to be a good one."

Another newcomer is 18-year-old winger Marvin Morgan, a Jamaican international who has already scored twice for his country.

LANCASTER -- Oxnard College forward Scooter Holmes is in uniform and will attempt to play tonight.

The No. 20-seeded Condors, who lost their last two games of the season with Holmes sidelined with an injury to his shooting hand, look like they will have their star sophomore for tonight's Southern California regional first-round playoff game at No. 13 Antelope Valley.

"I'm not thinking about the pain," said Holmes. "Pain is temporary."

An hour before tipoff at Marauder Gym, Holmes was the first Oxnard player in the team's blue road uniforms as the teams held a pregame shootaround.

"Scooter is so tough," said Oxnard coach Jason Cunningham. "He's played with plenty of (problems) before."

While the Ventura College women's basketball team only returned one sophomore, forward Ariel Hale, from its 2010 state championship team, another familiar face has rejoined the Pirates in recent weeks.

Suzie Faanono, who is redshirting this season because of illness, returned to practice last month and has been helping prepare the current team for the postseason.

"It feels really good to be back," said Faanono. "But I'm not here to show off my skills. I'm here to help out.

"It's been really hard. I really wanted to play this year... I'm playing next year for sure."

The Pacifica High product was a key reserve as a freshman, scoring 16 points in the three state tournaments games combined.

"She brought skill, she brought intelligence and she brought a calmness to the locker room," said Ventura coach Ned Mircetic. "She brings a complete presence to the team and I'm real happy she's healthy and back playing the game."

After suffering its two-game losing streak to fall out of first place in the WSC North, the Oxnard College men's basketball team rebounded with wins over Cuesta (105-89) and Moorpark (82-79) Saturday and Wednesday, respectively.

The obvious factor was the return of reserve guard Malcolm Pope, who returned after missing the two losses with an academic issue. The freshman from New York City had a game-high 25 points off the bench Wednesday night.

"I was trying to get to the basket the whole second half," said Pope.

Pope has provided a big lift to Oxnard's second unit in big games, especially offensively.

"He's so good you don't have to run a play for him," said Oxnard coach Jason Cunningham.

Wednesday night's WSC North women's showdown between first-place Ventura and second-place Los Angeles Pierce developed into a midseason test of depth.

The Pirates practiced Tuesday without three of its four leading scorers, Destinee LaFountain (ankle), Rebecca Griffin (flu-like symptoms) and Ja'Lisa Gatlin (flu-like symptoms).

But the Brahmas were forced to play without its second-leading scorer Amari Hampton, who entered the week No. 9 in the state in scoring at 18.8 points per game.

Interestingly enough, Hampton is only third in scoring among WSC North players. In Pierce guard Monica Jackson (26.5 ppg) and Hancock guard Camille Zumbro (24.8 ppg), the WSC North features the state's Top 2 scorers.

The first-place Ventura College women's basketball team is ailing ahead of Wednesday's important trip to second-place Los Angeles Pierce.

Three key players, point guard Rebecca Griffin (flu), Ja¹Lisa Gatlin (flu) and Destinee LaFountain (sprained ankle), missed practice today.

"If they can walk, they¹re playing," said Ventura coach Ned Mircetic. "That's why they sat around today."

The young Pirates (15-8, 4-0) are rounding into form, winning five straight games and 10 of 12 to rise to No. 8 in the Southern California coaches' poll ahead of the trip to No. 15 Pierce (12-7, 2-1).

Without four starters, the Oxnard College women's basketball team (5-8) somehow the lead for much of the game Wednesday before falling to 0-2 in WSC North play with a 66-61 loss at Cuesta.

"Considering everything that's happening, we had our chance to win," said Oxnard coach Phil Sherman. "It would have been one of the better wins I've ever had."

A promising season has taken a turn for the worst as the backcourt of Courtney Robbs and Mariah Ladd have quit the team, leading-scorer Nikki Tauau has temporarily left the team because of a family issue and guard Samantha Strang has suffered a sprained ankle.

Tauau, who has averaged 15.1 points and 7.9 rebounds, is out of state caring for her ailing grandmother.

"She's hurting right now and she's trying to deal with it," said Sherman. "We're expecting her back, but we're not exactly sure when."

The silver lining has been 5-foot-9 freshman Darnisha McGee, who has averaged 22.5 points and 16.0 rebounds in WSC North play.

Moorpark College outside hitter Shannon Pearson may be on the verge of returning to the Raiders' women's volleyball team just in time for the postseason.

The sophomore from Thousand Oaks, who has missed the last nine games after suffering a severely sprained ankle in practice last month, had her cast removed Thursday.

Pearson is resigned to missing Tuesday's postseason opener, but, should the Raiders progress, she hopes to return in time to contribute in a potential second-round game.

"I'm so excited," said Pearson. "I need to get some range of motion back, but I'm hoping to get cleared for our next game."

Saturday's Western State Bowl certainly means something to Moorpark safety Brian Baldwin.

The Camarillo High product, who has 46 tackles and six interceptions in eight games, was one of several key Raiders sidelined during last weekend's loss to Los Angeles Harbor

"It was horrible," said Baldwin. "I felt so bad that I couldn't help."

Baldwin broke his orbital bone in four places after taking an elbow to the face playing pickup basketball last week.

Despite being schedule for surgery Thursday, he hopes to play Saturday at Chaffey.

"I don't think that's going to stop me," said Baldwin.

Doctors have told Baldwin that, as long as he wears a face shield, the decision is his.

"He's a tough kid," said Moorpark coordinator Mike Stuart, "but we'll see how he feels."

The Ventura College football team's depleted receiving corps may get a boost this week as Tim Vizzi mulls a late-season return.

The Moorpark High product, who transferred from Cal Poly, has yet to play for the Pirates after suffering a back injury just before the first week of the season.

"He's very versatile," said Mooshagian. "He's very intelligent. He can probably play three different spots for us."

Since Vizzi already used his redshirt in San Luis Obispo, returning would only make sense for Vizzi if he sees himself as an eventual Division I player. Only Division II athletes are allowed to stop their clock.

"I just gave him all the facts and I'll let him make the decision that is best for him," said Mooshagian. "He still has until the end of the week to make the decision. I'm going to respect him either way."

Ventura lost several key receivers before its season opener, including Vizzi, Gordon Warner and Abraham Taylor.

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."'

Part of the reason why the City College of San Francisco women's basketball team was able to recover from an early 12-point deficit in the first half of Saturday's semifinal was because Ventura College star sophomore Erika Ward was forced out of the game with a groin injury.

Ward left the game at 9:55 of the first half after tweaking her leg muscle after attempting to save a loose ball under the San Francisco net.

"I slipped on a San Francisco pom pom," said Ward. "Not even a Ventura one.

"I did a split."

Ventura scored on the next possession to take a 17-5 lead as Ward left the playing area for treatment from Ventura trainer Mark Chaney.

The lead was seven points, 20-13, when Ward was able to reenter the game, but the Rams have found their feet, in the midst of a 11-2 run that cut the Ventura advantage to 22-20 with 3:56 left in the half.

After the game, Ward said she felt no ill effects from the slip.

"I'm good," said Ward.

Moorpark College men's basketball coach Remy McCarthy wasn't sure the Raiders could muster a three-game winning streak without forward Ryan Islas, who was leading the WSC North in shooting percentage when he dislocated a thumb earlier this month.

But that's what Moorpark brings into its WSC North showdown against Cuesta Saturday afternoon, when Islas is expected to return.

"I didn't know if that could be accomplished without Ryan," said McCarthy. "Wendell Antoine deserves a tremendous amount of credit. He's really stepped up."

Antoine stepped right into Islas' frontcourt role, averaging 13 points and seven rebounds in wins over Ventura, Oxnard and Hancock over the past two weeks.

"I'm not opposed to playing him, Mike and Ryan together," said McCarthy.