Santa Barbara City College, ranked No. 6 in the nation, dealt the Moorpark College women's soccer team an early conference blow Tuesday, 3-0.

Moorpark High product Laura Spivack, Kila MacNaughton and Chelsea Nielsen scored for Santa Barbara (6-0-4).

It took the Vaqueros 136 minutes to score against Moorpark last year. This year, with nine starters returning, it took barely 120 seconds as Moorpark High product Laura Spivack opened the scoring before the teams had broken a sweat.

"We were just overshadowed, technically and physically," said Moorpark coach Eric Privat. "It was one of those days when whatever we did didn't work."

The Moorpark College women's soccer team (8-1-1) kicks off the defense of its WSC North title at home this afternoon against its budding rival, Santa Barbara City (5-0-4), which is ranked No. 6 nationally by the coaches' association.

The two teams combined to play 180 scoreless minutes in WSC North play last year, part of the Raiders 14-hour shutout streak, before the Vaqueros prevailed 3-0 in the Southern California regional playoffs.

"My girls will fight from the first to the last minute," said coach Eric Privat. "The whole season has been like this I'm very proud of them.

"(Santa Barbara) is very confident. They play hard, and whatever happens happens.

"So far, the cards have been falling pretty right for us."

Today's opening day of WSC soccer play:

Community College men's soccer
Western State Conference: At 4 p.m.: Oxnard at Citrus; At TBA: Moorpark at College of the Canyons.

Community College women's soccer
WSC North: At 2 p.m.: Santa Barbara City at Moorpark; At 4 p.m.: Oxnard at Hancock, West Los Angeles at Ventura.

The Ventura College women's soccer team (6-1-2) is ranked No. 12 nationally in the latest NSCAA rankings.

The Pirates have been led by Jaz Strozier (10 goals) and Alyssa McDonald (7 goals, 5 assists).

Western State Conference North Division rival Santa Barbara City (5-0-4) is No. 6 in the poll.

Click the jump for the whole poll.

Here's what local products were saying yesterday about their upcoming college football games this Saturday.

- Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter (Westlake) spent the bye week in Tempe following the Sun Devils' loss to Georgia studying film of the their upcoming opponent Cal.
"I'm kind of going to start all over again with the film process and re-watch everything," Carpenter told the Arizona Republic. "This is a huge game for us. Georgia was a big game, but in the grand scheme of things it's not a Pac-10 game."

- USC senior Clay Matthews (Agoura) will be in the starting lineup on Saturday against Oregon. The former walk-on will either start at linebacker or defensive end depending on the injury status middle linebacker Rey Maualuga.
"He's just been too effective to keep him on the sideline," USC head coach Pete Carroll told reporters.

- Brigham Young University tight end Dennis Pitta (Moorpark) missed bye week practices last week with a sore shoulder, but should be back on the field against Utah State on Saturday. The potential BCS-busting Cougars moved up to No. 7 in the USA Today/Coaches' Poll, No. 8 in the Associated Press rankings and No. 9 in the Harris poll.
"I feel good," Pitta told the Salt Lake Tribune. "I will be practicing all this week. I just got a little banged up here and there in the game against Wyoming, so the bye week was a good time for me to rest up and try to get my legs back under me."

- Following Oregon State's upset victory over then top-ranked USC, Greg Newman (Thousand Oaks) and his Utah teammates are anxious to get the Beavers in Salt Lake City and continue the Mountain West supremacy over the Pac-10 Conference this season.
"This is what the game of football is all about for me and why I play," Newman told the Tribune. "It's going to be a whole lot of fun and I can't wait to get out there."

Ventura Colllege football coach Jon Mack could not update the status of Ventura kicker Alex Diaz, who left the game with a suspected broken leg after Cerritos' LeQuan Lewis barreled into the prone kicker during an extra point in the fourth quarter.

"We don't know," said Mack. "We've got to find another kicker. Anytime you lose a starter it's significant."

David Mietzner, a freshman from Buena High, took over the kicking duties for the rest of the game.

Lewis drew a 15-yard penalty for the hit, but was not ejected from the game, which also rankled Mack.

Here are a few stories involving local athletes to browse through on your afternoon lunch break.

Is Jimmy Clausen (Oaks Christian) beginning to live up to his golden boy prep rep at Notre Dame? His aerial performance against Purdue might be the first step.

Some more details about Jared Strubeck's (Rio Mesa) kicking experience at Hawaii on Saturday. Watch out for those officials.
Strubeck was named WAC Special Teams Player of the Week for his effort.

Yale senior Liam Leonard (Oaks Christian) earned Honor Roll kudos for Ivy League soccer

And the Ivy League football honor roll included Harvard wide receiver Matt Luft (Thousand Oaks).
Details on Luft's prodigious first-quarter output can be found in in Harvard's game recap

When you speak to coaches on a daily basis, especially for years on end, you develop a sense of reading their confidence entering an athletic contest.

This time last week, I didn't think Moorpark College football coach Jim Bittner felt like he had a serious chance of beating No. 8-ranked Santa Ana College Saturday.

Turns out I was right and Bittner was wrong.

"I thought we were going to get humiliated," admitted Bittner Sunday. "This team had put up a bunch of points on everybody."

Not that you can blame the veteran coach. Coming off a demoralizing loss to Fullerton which the Raiders dominated, Moorpark was facing one of the top teams in the region with a defense so battered and bruised it was starting more than one linebacker who had never played the position before.

Final score? Moorpark 26, Santa Ana 20.

And it was the Moorpark defense which saved the day with four interceptions, the last of which Greg Davis intercepted for the game-winning touchdown with 10 minutes to play.

Which means the 30-year coaching veteran will be enjoying his team's bye week, despite Moorpark's date with powerhouse College of the Canyons, ranked No. 3 in last week's JC Gridwire national poll, coming up on the horizon.

"I'm a lot more relaxed than I was this time last week," said Bittner.

The Ventura College football team saw its 10-game winning streak dating back to last October snapped in controversy Saturday at Cerritos College when the clock at Falcon Stadium ran out despite Ventura QB Lee Mondol's pass from the Cerritos 10 falling incomplete in the end zone with two seconds remaining.

In the heat of the moment, Ventura coach Jon Mack called the loss "one of the most poorly officiated games I've ever been a part of."

In victory, Cerritos coach Frank Mazzotta had his own perspective on his program's clock management, saying "That's why you have the game at home" with a wry smile.

Reached Sunday as the Ventura coaching staff broke down film, Mack seemed ready to turn the page:

"We're frustrated but we can't allow ourselves to be in that position. We see a whole bunch of plays that we had opportunities to make, so therefore we didn't earn the victory."

Ventura spurned three chances to score in the first half, failed to score for more than five quarters dating back to the previous week's 49-0 win over Santa Barbara and finished 2 of 5 in red zone opportunities.

Asked if there was a higher power to which the Pirates could appeal, Mack said his team would not be seeking any type of ruling or protest.

"My philosophy is we move on," said Mack. "We can't control those type of things so we don't worry about it.

"We just try to play Glendale."

Despite having its 10-game winning streak snapped Saturday night at Cerritos, 18-13, the Ventura College football team still leads Southern California in scoring defense at 7.0 points per game.

Ventura (3-1) has allowed just 28 points through four games.

The Pirates also lead SoCal in defensive passing efficiency, holding opposing quarterbacks to a 75.9 rating. Opponents have completed only 54 of 116 passes for 500 yards and four interceptions.

VC still has yet to allow a passing touchdown.

The Ventura College football team suffered its first defeat, 18-13 at Cerritos Saturday, in quarterback Lee Mondol's 11 starts over two seasons.

But it doesn't mean Mondol played poorly. The Ventura High product continues to lead all Southern California quarterbacks with more than 10 attempts this season with a 200.3 quarterback rating.

"He's a great player," said Ventura coach Jon Mack of Mondol's performance Saturday. "He played the way we expected him to play."

Mondol has completed 65 of 88 passes for 861 yards, 13 touchdowns and two interceptions. He has completed 73.1 percent of his passes.

No. 5 Ventura was shocked at Cerritos, therefore No. 2 Canyons is the lone unbeaten as we shift into Northern Conference play for the first time.

Week 4 results:
No. 2 Canyons 34, No. 4 Fullerton 28
No. 13 Cerritos 18, No. 5 Ventura 13
No. 12 Moorpark 26, No. 8 Santa Ana 20
No. 3 El Camino 32, No. 15 Bakersfield 29
No. 11 Orange Coast 31, No. 17 Glendale 24
No. 18 Hancock 48, Citrus 38
Pasadena 32, No. 14 Riverside 15

Comment: Obviously, the Game of the Week in Southern California was the Canyons-Fullerton game, which featured two of the Top 4 teams in the coaches' poll. Fullerton, which fumbled on the COC 7 going in for the game-winning score, played a much better game against COC than it had the previous week against Moorpark.

"Fullerton fought for the entire 60 minutes. They just got unlucky, or we got lucky, however you want to look at it," COC head coach Garett Tujague told the Santa Clarita Signal. "Our offense had to put drives together, had to score, and they did. Our defense had to come up with stops, and they did."

Standings after Week 4
Canyons 4-0
Moorpark 3-1
Ventura 3-1
Hancock 3-1
Glendale 2-2
Pasadena 2-2
Bakersfield 1-3

Comment: Canyons, ranked No. 3 nationally, is going to be the team to beat in the conference race, but there is not a team that should be counted out. Despite being off to its worst start since 1986, Bakersfield, so tough both recently and historically, just pushed powerful El Camino (the 2006 state and national champions) in a 3-point loss Saturday. Interesting stuff by Hancock too, which only beat Santa Barbara 14-10, but piled up more than 400 yards rushing in a 48-38 win over Citrus Saturday.

Week 5 Schedule
Bakersfield at Pasadena, 6 p.m.
Canyons at Hancock, 6 p.m.
Ventura at Glendale, 7 p.m.
Moorpark, bye

Comment: Moorpark gets to sit and rest this week, but has to visit Canyons next week.

Two weeks ago, the Southeastern Conference, when it boasted exactly half of the AP Top 10 (No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Florida, No. 6 LSU, No. 9 Alabama, No. 10 Auburn) was beating its chest as by far the toughest conference in college football.

So soon things change.

Yes, No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 LSU give the SEC two of the Top 3 teams in America. Yet look at what the Big 12 Conference is doing right now.

Not only does the Big 12 have the top-ranked Sooners, but three of the Top 5, including No. 4 Missouri (with early Heisman Trophy frontrunner Chase Daniel) and No. 5 Texas, plus No. 7 Texas Tech.

I'm already looking forward to yet the Red River shootout Oct. 11, but look at what the Longhorns will tackle over a four-week stretch next month -- at No. 1 Oklahoma, vs. No. 4 Missouri, vs. No. 21 Oklahoma State and at No. 7 Texas Tech in consecutive weeks.

According to this week's conference release, the Big 12 finished non-conference play with a 38-10 record, which is the most regular-season non-conference victories in Big 12 history.

Losses atop the rankings were common late last year. Now we've got a wild weekend in September.

No. 1 USC's upset in Corvallis simply kicked off a wild weekend that included No. 3 Georgia falling to No. 8 Alabama, 41-30, No. 4 Florida losing to Mississippi, 31-30, and No. 9 Wisconsin losing to Michigan, 27-25.

No. 16 Wake Forest, No. 20 Clemson and No. 23 East Carolina also lost.

The point, of course, is that no team -- not even perhaps Pete Carroll's most talented USC team in a Pac-10 without another ranked team -- has an express ticket to the Bowl Championship Series title game.

The new Top 5 that follows top-ranked Oklahoma looks like this: No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Missouri, No. 5 Texas.

With its No. 1 ranking, Oklahoma will spend its 96th week atop the AP poll, which breaks the Sooners' previous tie with Notre Dame for most weeks No. 1, according to ESPN.com.

As most of the nation slept, Jared Strubeck (Rio Mesa) made his dreams come true on the football field.

The San Jose State kicker booted a 47-yard game-winning field goal with 1:49 remaining to lead San Jose State to a 20-17 victory over host Hawaii on Saturday night to snap Hawaii's 15-game Western Athletic Conference win streak.

Strubeck also kicked a career-best 50-yard field goal to tie the game at 17 with 9:32 remaining. The kick barely made it over the crossbar as the Spartans erupted in celebration. Strubeck was just 3-of-8 entering the game.

In Saturday's paper, I wrote about the injury recovery of Fresno State safety Lorne Bell (Simi Valley). But Bell isn't the only local Bulldog coming back from a knee injury this season.

Junior wide receiver Chastin West (Moorpark) missed all of the 2007 season rehabbing, and was motivated to play against UCLA yesterday at the Rose Bowl.

One of the top receiving threats in Western Athletic Conference in 2006, West displayed his old form against the Bruins.

He caught five passes for 69 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown catch (as my colleague Joe informed earlier), in Fresno State's 36-31 victory played in front of a large collection of red-clad Bulldog fans.

Hitting him where it hurts: Another local was involved in a big play yesterday during the Stanford-Washington game.

Washington quarterback Jake Locker suffered a broken right thumb in a 35-28 loss and is out indefinitely.

Locker hurt the thumb while making a block on Stanford safety Sean Wiser (Oaks Christian) in the second quarter.

Golden moments: After spending a season behind a porous offensive line as a true freshman, Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen (Oaks Christian) is beginning to show why he was such a heralded recruit.

In yesterday's 38-21 victory over Purdue, Clausen completed 20 of 35 passes for a career-high 275 yards and tied a career-high with three touchdown passes and no interceptions.

"Yeah, I played good out there," Clausen told reporters. "I was reading the coverages pretty good. I felt like I knew what to do coming into the game, and the coaches helped me and got me ready to go."

Victory party: I had a chance to talk with Oregon State sophomore linebacker Dwight Roberson (St. Bonaventure) on Friday - one day after Oregon State's upset of then top-ranked USC.

Roberson said the city of Corvallis was wild in celebration into the early morning hours and the atmosphere at the stadium during the game was electric.

Roberson, who finished with two tackles, said it felt great to be a part of the action in an upset of USC. In 2006, when the Beavers last shocked USC, Roberson was redshirting.

Here's the coverage in today's Star of Saturday's college football day:

Community College

No. 12 Moorpark 26, No. 8 Santa Ana 20: Pick for six secures victory for Moorpark by David Lassen in Moorpark
No. 13 Cerritos 18, No. 5 Ventura 13: Disputed final play ends VC's win streak by Joe Curley in Norwalk

NCAA Division I

Fresno State 36, UCLA 31: Fresno State outlasts Bruins by Associated Press in Pasadena

Click the jump for the Moorpark-Santa Ana unofficial box by Star teammate David Lassen.

Click on the jump for the VC-Cerritos football box score, which will make for ugly reading for any Pirates fan.

Lee Mondol drove Ventura to the 10-yard line with 12 seconds to play, but two incompletions end the game.

More to follow.

Tivao's third touchdown of the day give the host Falcons the lead back with 65 seconds left.

Lee Mondol's second touchdown pass of the night, to Patrick Herbert, gives Ventura its first lead of the night, 13-12 with 5:15 to play.

The Raiders got a late safety to beat the former Mission League foe for the second straight week.

Junior Tivao has scored for the second time as Cerritos has taken a 12-0 lead after three quarters.

Semaj Washington converts a 7-yard TD catch from Lee Mondol with 12:17 to play to pull the Pirates within one score.

Tivao is in for his second TD of the night as the Falcons take a 12-0 lead with little more than one quarter to play in Norwalk.

The Ventura College football team is ranked No. 11 in the nation, but its unbeaten start is in jeopardy in Norwalk.

Cerritos' touchdown on its first possession, a 2-yard Junior Tivao touchdown run, has held up for a 6-0 Falcons lead at halftime.

Ventura leads in most statistical categories, including total offense 162-107, but is 0-2 in red zone possessions, including a blocked field goal attempt by Cerritos' LeQuan Lewis.

Game is being broadcasted at KVTA.com

From Star teammate David Lassen, Santa Ana takes 20-14 lead on 93-yard, 12-play drive, scoring on a 3-yard run by Bryson Kelly with 5:14 left in third.

PAT attempt by Nick Canney hits upright and stays out.

The Moorpark College football team led 17-0 in the second quarter, but Jordan Thomas hit Tim Skaggs with a 3-yard TD pass and Michael Coulter hit Matt Cardenas with a 16-yard touchdown pass as Santa Ana pulled without 17-14 at the half.

Donald Senegal is 11 of 19 for 94 yards each at the half.

Apparently, the Moorpark College football team doesn't mind facing foes from Orange County.

Playing without star running back Danny Mosier, the Raiders have jumped out to a 14-0 lead over No. 8 ranked Santa Ana College through one quarter tonight at Griffin Stadium.

Donald Senegal hit Justin Bradley with a 29-yard TD pass and, following Roy Holmes' interception, running back Matt Gentle ran in a 2-yard touchdown run.

Moorpark High product Chastin West just caught a 28-yard TD pass from Tom Brandstater to push the Fresno State football team ahead 36-22 againt UCLA at the Rose Bowl.

UCLA's Bret Lockett returned the PAT for a two-point conversion, but the Bruins still trail by 12 points with 14 minutes to play.

The UCLA football team finally got in the end zone this afternoon against Fresno State, after 27 straight possessions without a score dating back to the season-opening win over Tennessee.

RB Kahlil Bell returned to rush for two touchdown in the first half, giving UCLA, which entered play 117th in the nation in rushing, a big boost.

UCLA hadn't scored an offensive touchdown in nine quarters. Raymond Carter's 3-yard run in the third quarter against Tennessee was the Bruins lone running TD before today.

Here are my capsules for tomorrow's community college football games, a pair of excellent non-conference matchups featuring ranked teams with a combined 5-1 record, one day before they appear in print.

Mark Sanchez just threw a touchdown strike to Patrick Turner with 1:19 left in Corvallis, but the top-ranked USC football team is behind the 8-ball.

Down 27-21, its national championship hopes teeter on an onsides kick.

Arizona coach Mike Stoops spoke this week about his team's 31-10 win at UCLA last weekend:

"Really pleased with the way we played at UCLA. We just kind of roughed the game out and won pretty easily, could have scored a couple more touchdowns.

"We thought UCLA, with their offensive problems, would have trouble moving the ball consistently. We felt good about our matchup all the way through that game.

"Offensively, they're obviously searching for some playmakers. They've got some guys banged up. Defensively, I thought hey played a much better defensive game. They put some pressure on our offense."

Asked about playing USC tonight on national television, Oregon State head coach Mike Riley took the time to rave about the USC defense.

"I think that this team, defensively, is as talented as any that I've seen."

"The way that they play to that talent is very impressive. They play with great vision on the football... They have a feel for the patterns, but they are reacting to the ball impressively. That's why they can make plays.

"You've got to get rid of the football in an appropriate time or you're going to get that pressure from the rush."

From UCLA Sports Information:

UCLA redshirt junior fullback Trevor Theriot, who was injured in practice on Wednesday, has a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, according to an MRI. He will require surgery and will miss the remainder of the season.

Fresno State head coach Pat Hill has taken this week's trip to UCLA to complain that UCLA and USC won't make a return trip to the Central Valley.

Fresno famously had one of the most entertaining games in recent history at USC in 2005, but didn't get a crack at the Trojans in Fresno.

"Our schedule is scheduled so far out. It's pretty much done. It's not that easy," said USC coach Pete Carroll.

"It just doesn't fit because the schedule is made for years and years in advance."

The first month of the college football season is nearly complete and the Pacific-10 Conference won't be sad to see it go.

Only top-ranked USC (2-0) will wake up this morning unbeaten and the Trojans will do so in Corvallis, Ore., where they've lost on two of their last trips to Reser Stadium, including the stunning 33-31 loss in 2006.

Through the first four weekends, the Pac-10 Conference has a combined 10-12 against bowl subdivision schools (12-12 overall).

That fallout of two gory weekends is apparent in the AP Top 25, which lists No. 1 USC as its lone Pac-10 school. Which raises questions on the affect a conference campaign without a ranked opponent would have on a Trojans march to the Bowl Championship Series title game.

The question seemed to rankle USC head coach Pete Carroll when he was presented with the issue Tuesday.

"No, what would we address about that?" said Carroll. "We have a ridiculously difficult schedule going through the conference. We don't address where they're ranked or anything. I've never brought that up and I'd never understand why we would."

"Every game for us is a championship, enormous event and opportunity, and it doesn't matter what the setting is."

Behind Rachel Olinyk, who is second in the WSC in solo blocks, the Moorpark College women's volleyball team has started 7-3.

Hueneme High product Josh Pinkard, who missed most of last season with a knee injury, will return to the starting lineup tonight at Oregon State.

"He's had a difficult time getting going," said USC coach Pete Carroll. "I've always talked about Josh so highly because he has such fantastic physical ability and overall talent.

"He's had a difficult time staying out there with the two big knee injuries, but he's back now. He played beautifully through camp and had a really productive first two games for us.

"Just getting out there, we've rotated him with our starting corners. The fact that he's going to start this game is not a big transition for us, he's already played with the ones all camp. Hopefully he can have a real nice game."

After outscoring its three opponents by an average margin of 44-3, Ventura (3-0) should face its first real test Saturday at Cerritos (2-1).

"This one will be interesting," said Ventura coach Jon Mack. "Last year, I think they had the largest line in all of college football, not just (community college).

"This year's line is just as big and just as good. I don't know where they get them all."
Cerritos beat the Pirates, 15-6, last year.

Bittner said his players were in high spirits despite dominating Fullerton statistically. The game ended with Moorpark on the Fullerton 4-yard line.

"Kids are kids, they bounce back," said Bittner. "They're ready to go. I haven't told them how good Santa Ana is, but they're looking at tape, so they've pretty much figured it out.

The football season is giving Moorpark College coach Jim Bittner and his staff the cold shoulder.

The Raiders have suffered no less than eight serious shoulder injuries in three games.
Saturday's heartbreaking 16-13 loss to Fullerton was compounded by injuries to running back Danny Mosier, middle linebacker Miller Aupiu, defensive back Alex Tennyson and others.

"I've never seen anything like this," said Bittner. "It just may be a freak season or something. When you have eight shoulder injuries in three games, you start to wonder."

Moorpark (2-1) will probably be missing two of its starting linebackers when Santa Ana (3-0), ranked No. 25 in this week's JC Gridwire national poll, visits Griffin Stadium Saturday.

Tight end Aulama Lemalu and defensive end Ryan Whitman are two Raiders working at linebacker for the first this time this week.

Mosier, who gained 43 yards in a half after entering last week leading Southern California in rushing, is questionable Saturday.

Only Santa Ana, which featuring defensive end B.J. Bell, stands between Moorpark and a much-needed bye week.

"We're sort of piecing it together this week," said Bittner. "It's going to take some inspiration to get through this one."

Here's this week's Cal Lutheran University athletics notebook by Star teammate Rhiannon Potkey, which includes notes on men's water polo, football, women's volleyball, women's cross country.

Averaging 51 yards per game, UCLA is ranked No. 117 in the country in rushing.

But the Bruins should be boosted Saturday against Fresno State by the return of running back Kahlil Bell, who was injured in the first half of the season opener against Tennessee.

"We're going to give Kahlil a chance," said Neuheisel. "He really wanted to play against Arizona. I did not think he was quite ready. Given another week, I think he'll be ready to play. I'm not sure he'll be 100 percent, but we're going to give him a shot."

After three weeks, College of the Canyons, ranked No.3 nationally, and No. 11 Ventura College are both 3-0. They will face each other in about a month, Oct. 25, in Santa Clarita.

They have played the same schedule: Los Angeles Valley, Antelope Valley and Santa Barbara City. COC is averaging a 58-9 win while the Pirates are averaging a 44-3 win.

Canyons leads the state in scoring offense (58.3 ppg) and Ventura leads the state in scoring defense (3.3 ppg).

Ventura QB Lee Mondol leads the state in passing efficiency (243.0) and yards per attempt (12.6).

Canyons RB Fred Winborn leads the state in yards of total offense per touch (11.7) and is second in yards rushing (350), despite only playing two games. Canyons WR Hayo Carpenter leads the state in all-purpose yardage (767).

Carpenter (8) and Ventura WR Tim Pope (7) are first and second in Southern California in touchdowns by receivers.

Breaking down the rosters, COC has 35 out-of-state players from 11 different states (Florida 8, Tennessee 6, Hawaii 6, New Jersey 5, New York 2, Texas 2, South Carolina 2, North Carolina, Washington, Indiana, Louisiana). VC has 32 out-of-state players from 12 different states (Texas 7, Florida 6, Georgia 6, Maryland).

Canyons also has six players from Ventura County schools, including two each from Thousand Oaks and Grace Brethren and one apiece from Oaks Christian and Agoura.

UCLA lost Patrick Cowan and Ben Olson without playing a game.

Oregon was forced to dip to its fifth-string quarterback in last week's loss to Boise State.
Washington State lost its top two quarterbacks, Kevin Lopina and Gary Rogers, in last week's win over Portland State.

Yet UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said there is little coaches and administrators can do about the situation besides build depth.

"The fact of the matter is it's a physical game," sand Neuheisel. "It's just kind of the breaks of the game. I don't think you can make excuses about it, you just keep going."

Riverside (5-1) handed the Oxnard College men's soccer team its third non-conference loss of the season Tuesday at Oxnard, despite being down to 10 men for the entire second half.

Jonny Martinez produced a highlight-reel equalizer for the Condors (4-3) in the second half to no avail.

"We had chance after chance," said Oxnard coach Ross Greaney. "They beat us with 10 players."

First half goals by Shannon Paulson and Christina Leon were enough for the Moorpark College women's soccer (6-1-1, 1-0) to trump Oxnard College Tuesday in the WSC North opener for both teams.

Anna Alatorre scored the lone goal for Oxnard (2-3-1, 0-1).

Alyssa McDonald, Jaz Strozier and Jocelyn Coney scored as the Ventura College women's soccer team beat visiting Bakersfield 3-0 Tuesday night to improve to 5-1-1.

The Ventura College football team rose to No. 11 in this week's JC Gridwire poll.

Full poll after the jump.

Mount San Antonio, the defending Southern California champion and the No. 1-ranked team in both the state and the region, broke its single-game school scoring record in Saturday's 73-13 win over winless Victor Valley.

Here's the report from the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

Here's the coverage of Saturday's college football in today's Star:

Community College

No. 4 Fullerton 16, No. 5 Moorpark 13: Moorpark goes for it, comes up short by Joe Curley in Moorpark.

No. 6 Ventura 49, Santa Barbara City 0: Ventura chalks up another easy winby David Lassen in Ventura.

NCAA Division III

Cal Lutheran 16, Pacific Lutheran 7:: CLU earns first winby staff reports

NCAA Division I

Arizona 31, UCLA 10: UCLA offense has little to offer by Loren Ledin in Pasadena

And then there were two. No. 2 Canyons and No. 6 Ventura are the only unbeaten teams remaining in the Northern Conference through three weeks of the community college football season.

This was the best week thus far for the Northern Conference, which was 6-1 this week with Moorpark's shoulda-woulda-coulda failed upset bid against Fullerton the only L.

Week 3 results:
No. 2 Canyons 66, Los Angeles Valley 7
No. 4 Fullerton 16, No. 5 Moorpark 13
No. 6 Ventura 49, Santa Barbara City 0
No. 16 Bakersfield 60, Santa Monica 14
No. 18 Hancock 35, Los Angeles Pierce 3
No. 20 Glendale 20, No. 12 Riverside 7
Pasadena 40, East Los Angeles 12

The Northern Conference is now a combined 14-7.

Standings after Week 2:
Canyons - 3-0
Ventura - 3-0
Moorpark - 2-1
Hancock - 2-1
Glendale - 2-1
Bakersfield - 1-2
Pasadena - 1-2

On tap next week:
Ventura (3-0) at Cerritos (2-1), Santa Ana (3-0) at Moorpark (2-1), Canyons (3-0) at Fullerton (3-0), Hancock (2-1) at Citrus (1-2), El Camino (3-0) at Bakersfield (1-2), Riverside (2-1) at Pasadena (1-2), Orange Coast (3-0) at Glendale (2-1).

Through three games, the Ventura College football team has been dominant in the air.

Offensively, QB Lee Mondol (33-of-47 passing, 575 yards 11 TDs, 1 int.) is leading Southern California in passing efficiency at 246.0.

Defensive, the Pirates are also leading Southern California in defensive passing efficiency. Opposing quarterbacks have completed just 44 of 95 passes for 376 yards, no touchdowns and 4 interceptions.

The VC secondary features safeties Dakota Holland (Moorpark High) and Travaun Nixon (Hueneme High), as well as cornerbacks Byron Sells (Westlake High), James Jackson (Oxnard High) and BK Wilkinson.

Through three games, the Ventura College football team has allowed just 10 points, which is good enough to lead Southern California in scoring defense (3.3 points per game)

Click the jump for the complete list, per SCFAfootball.com.

Ventura is also second in SoCal with a plus 6 turnover margin.

Click on the jump for the unofficial box score of the Ventura College football team's 49-0 win over Santa Barbara City Saturday night at Larrabee Stadium, as it was filed by Star teammate David Lassen.

After three weeks, the Northern Conference has two of the Top 4 highest scoring teams in Southern California.

College of the Canyons is averaging 58.6 points per game to lead the region. Ventura is averaging 44.0 points per game, good for fourth.

The two teams are the only Northern Conference teams that remain unbeaten through three games. They meet Oct. 25 in Valencia.

Here's the unofficial box score from Moorpark's 16-13 loss tonight to Fullerton.

It's a final. Ventura improves to 3-0.

Jim Bittner had no choice.

With the ball on Fullerton's 4-yard line with four seconds to play, the Moorpark College football team couldn't chance a game-tying field goal because of their long snapping situation, which had seen four punt snaps bounced throughout the game.

Thus, James Clay was stopped at the line of scrimmage at the clock ran out for a 16-13 Fullerton win.

More to come after I finish my game story.

After Moorpark pulled within 16-13 with 10:26 to play, Moorpark attempted a surprise onsides kick that gave the Hornets the ball at the Moorpark 39.

But Kyley McCrae's interception inside the Moorpark 10 gave the Raiders the ball back.

They marched 50 yards to earn a first and 10 at the Fullerton 21-yard line, until a running back fumbled to give the ball back with 3:12 to play.

Donald Senegal's 15-yard touchdown pass to RB Nathan Largen has pulled Moorpark within three points of Fullerton, 16-13, with 10:26 to play at Griffin Stadium.

The 10-play, 76-yard drive was the second straight that Fullerton extended with a roughing the passer penalty.

Moorpark pulls within 16-6 with 1:34 left in the third quarter on Luke Geiler's recovery of Don Senegal's fumble in the end zone.

Senegal appeared to get the pylon on the conversion try but it was deemed unsuccessful.

Geiler is a sophomore offensive lineman from Alemany.

Fullerton's Conroy Black returned a blocked punt 25 yards for a touchdown as the Hornets took a 16-0 lead with 2:21 left in the third quarter.

Moorpark has struggled on long snaps tonight, bouncing at least three.

A long TD run by Semaj Washington gives Ventura a 35-0 lead in "The Big Game."

RB Kevin Robinson's 4-yard TD run just gave Fullerton a 10-0 lead with 9:37 left in the third quarter at Moorpark.

The Hornets twice converted fourth downs on the drive.

Game over at Larrabee Stadium, where Ventura (2-0) leads local rival Santa Barbara City 28-0 after one quarter.

Down 28 points, Santa Barbara has scored just 16 points through the first nine quarters of its second.

Ventura leads 28-0 with 2:29 left in the first quarter. It was nearly 35-0, as VC cornerback James Jackson returned an interception 90 yards for a touchdown. But the Pirates' fifth score was wiped off by a penalty.

The Moorpark College football team trails 3-0 at the half in its showdown with Fullerton tonight at Griffin Stadium.

Yet the Raiders have outgained the visitors 160-90 at the half. All three Moorpark backs have ripped off gainers of 20 or more yards.

Danny Mosier has carried eight times for 45 yards, including a 22-yard burst. Matt Gentle has carried six times for 33 yards, including a 20-yarder. James Clay has carried four times for 28 yards, including a 20-yarder.

"The Big Game" is quickly turning into a farce.

RB Michael Lee cashed in Santa Barbara fumble and QB Lee Mondol added the two-point conversion to push the lead to 15-0 with 6:13 left in the first quarter. TE Tyler Whitcomb cashed in another Santa Barbara fumble with a TD reception from Mondol for a 22-0 lead. Lee cashed in A THIRD Santa Barbara fumble from 1 yard out.

Ventura has scored 28 points, while Santa Barbara has managed to run a single play from scrimmage, fumbling on that one play and on two subsequent kickoffs.

Moorpark has outgained the Hornets 160-90 after 30 minutes, but has had four drives stall in Fullerton territory.

Fullerton's All-American safety Lee Aguirre left the game with an injury after intercepting a Donald Senegal pass on the goal line on a fourth and 1 play deep in Hornets' territory.

Fullerton has pulled QB Jeff Fleming has been has been pulled after failing to complete his first five passes. Christian Andrade's interception on the Hornets' fourth drive was the final straw. Freshman Matthew Heady has replaced Fleming, who had a passing efficiency rating of more than 180 through two games.

Tim Pope has scored his sixth touchdown of the season to give the Ventura College football team an early 7-0 in "The Big Game" against Santa Barbara City.

Pope capped off the first drive with 10:58 left in the first quarter.

Fullerton took a 3-0 lead on DeJon Miller's 26-yard field goal with 11:35 left in the second quarter.

No score after Griffin Stadium after one quarter. Both teams have had success on both sides of the ball through 15 minutes.

The highlight was Moorpark's second drive, which took up 21 plays and nearly nine minutes of the opening quarter. The Raiders traveled from its own 1-yard line to the Hornets' 27.

The drive was foiled by three sacks by Fullerton linebacker Jeff Bonomolo, including one on fourth and 5 from the fullerton 29.

Fullerton has seemed to have lost confidence in QB Jeff Fleming after three errant throws, pounding RB Devon McCullough has carried six times for 26 yards.

Moorpark College football coach Jim Bittner met Fullerton College football coach Tim Byrnes on the Griffin Stadium turf before their game Saturday night and had this exchange:

"So far, so good for you guys, huh?" said Byrnes, referring to the Raiders' wild 51-48 win last week against West Los Angeles.

"Yeah, you thought it was gonna be easy for you guys tonight, didn't you?" responded Bittner, jokiingly.

Moorpark College quarterback Donald Senegal will start his second collegiate game, and first home game, tonight against Fullerton.

I asked offensive coordinator Jimmy Bittner if Senegal was the team's official starter:

"As long as he keeps making plays, he's the guy," responded Bittner.

We're about to kick off Week 3 of the community college football season.

I'm at Griffin Stadium, where No. 5 Moorpark College hosts No. 4 Fullerton (which looks like it has bought as many cheerleaders north as the Raiders do football players).

David Lassen is at Larrabee Stadium, where No. 6 Ventura hosts Santa Barbara City in "The Big Game" local rivalry. The game is also being broadcast at KVTA 1520 AM Ventura.

I'll have updates of both games right here as the night goes on.

Looking forward to a big Week 3 in community college football? Here is my preview.

Click the jump for my capsule previews of Saturday's Moorpark College and Ventura College football games that will run in tomorrow's Star:

Fullerton College football coach Tim Byrnes on Moorpark College starting quarterback Donald Senegal, who completed 19 of 33 passes for 33 yards and 3 TDs in the Raiders' 51-48 win Saturday over West Los Angeles.

"Anytime a guy can move around, you always worry as coaches," said Tim Byrnes. "What worries us is his ability to scramble around in the pocket.

"He doesn't really run, but he's able to scramble and make some things happen."

No. 4-ranked Fullerton College, who visits No. 5 Moorpark Saturday night at 6, will bring in a pair of dangerous quarterbacks.

Starting QB Jeff Fleming, a 6-foot-4, 185-pound freshman from Brea Olinda High, has been honorable mention Southern Conference Player of the Week in his first two starts.

He completed 11 of 29 passes for 171 yards and 3 TDs in the 35-19 win over Compton on Sept. 6 and 13 of 17 passes for 287 yards and 4 TDs in the 59-20 win over Pierce Sept. 13.

"Our quarterback has seven touchdowns and one turnover," said Fullerton coach Tim Byrnes. "That's the key to us on offense, we haven't turned the ball over."

Fullerton also has a mobile quarterback in 6-foot-1 freshman Courtney Parker, who has only completed 1 of 3 passes, but has run 14 times for 55 yards and a TD.

Fullerton College football coach Tim Byrnes on Moorpark College sophomore Danny Mosier, who leads Southern California in rushing (531 yards) and touchdowns (6) after two games.

"Is he the best back we've seen? No. is he better than anybody we have? Yes."

"We're down to our fourth string tailback, I'd take (Mosier) in a heartbeat."

Five running backs have carried the ball for the Hornets, who have been led by Devon McCullough (24 att., 92 yards, 3 TDs) and Sheldon Reid (8 att., 75 yards).

Fullerton College coach Tim Byrnes is wary of a Moorpark College offense that put 51 points on the board Saturday at West Los Angeles:

"Anybody who scored against a 51 points (is dangerous)," said Byrnes. "Scoring 51 points on a Pop Warner team is pretty good... I'm a little worried."

Of course, Fullerton scored 59 points Saturday against Los Angeles Pierce, a team Moorpark only defeated 28-17.

"They gave it to us," said Byrnes.

Byrnes called the Raiders "solid."

"What I like about their team, it looks like they're solid all around," said Byrnes. "They don't do anything super fancy.

"I told my team, if you make mistakes, you're going to get beat. If you don't make mistakes, you'll probably beat them."

I just spoke with Fullerton College football coach Tim Byrnes ahead of Saturday's Top 5 clash between No. 4 Fullerton (2-0) and No. 5 Moorpark (2-0) at Griffin Stadium.

I'll have a couple updates through the day, but here's one thing that stood out immediately:

Both the Hornets and the Raiders seem to mirror each other in their makeup. Moorpark graduated a huge sophomore class last year, led by star receiver Conrad Meadows, and mostly consists of freshmen. Byrnes said that Fullerton has 100 freshman (65 of which will dress) and 35 sophomores.

"I think we're a talented team, I don't know we're a good team yet," said Byrnes. "I don't think we've really been tested yet.

"We are two-deep with athletes, but I don't know if we're as sound as Moorpark is."

No. 5 Moorpark and No. 6 Ventura hold firm in the recent Southern California football rankings, released Wednesday.

The Top 7 held their spots after winning Saturday.

Full rankings after the jump.

Hoping to claw its way back to the top, the Ventura College women's soccer team is testing itself against some of the top teams in the state.

After hosting its annual BK Sports Classic, which featured annual powers like Long Beach City and Santa Rosa, the Pirates (3-1-1) last week visited Santiago Canyon, the 2006 state champion and 2007 state finalist ranked No. 12 in the national coaches' poll.

Behind goals by freshman Alyssa McDonald and freshman Jazmarae Strozier Ventura held a 2-1 lead with 15 minutes to play before falling 3-2.

Forward Jessica Bowsman has already begin her sophomore season with a pair of goals, which is important considering the Pirates have already lost seven of their 25-player roster to season-ending injury.

The 24-game regular season unbeaten streak may have ended Sept. 5 at Santa Monica, but the Moorpark College women's soccer team is focused on an exciting-yet-difficult defense of its Western State Conference title.

Ventura or Santa Barbara City may be the favorites to regain the WSC's North Division title, but the Raiders (5-1-1) have new confidence after ending Ventura's 11-year title streak last fall.

"For the first time, they see themselves as a champion," said Moorpark coach Eric Privat. "They are trying to communicate this desire to the freshman."

Ten sophomores, including forward Cecilia Engelking, forward Linda Miloud and midfielder Briana Miller, return from Moorpark's 15-1-5 team, which went nearly 14 hours of soccer without allowing a goal.

The join sophomores including Agoura's Ashley Cheney, Simi Valley's Breana Souell and Moorpark's Kaitlin Walters.

"They have a lot of fun playing together," said Privat.

First-year head coach Janet Cassidy already has her first two wins for the Oxnard College women's soccer team.

The Condors (2-1-1) have beaten Rio Hondo, 1-0, and Los Angeles Mission, 3-2, and drawn 1-1 against Santa Monica, which has also earned early results against Moorpark and Ventura.

Freshman Samantha Lane, a Thousand Oaks High graduate, has already scored six goals for a team that includes 21 freshmen.

Forward Bianca Magana, goalkeeper Ashley Sims and Amanda Rodriguez are the Condors three returners from Mike Scanlon's last team.

If Rick Neuheisel is relentlessly postive, Ventura College football coach Jon Mack is relentlessly unsatisfied.

The Pirates have won their two games by a combined margin of 83-10. Yet Mack was unhappy with the Pirates performance Saturday night.

"We've got to be better," said Mack. "We didn't play to our expectations. Not consistent enough... just in general."

Mack did compliment a smattering of performances, including the defensive line as a whole and middle linebacker Trevor Lyne as an individual.

"They really stepped up to the challenge," said Mack.

The Ventura College football team holds steady this week at No. 15 in the JCFootball.com/JC Gridwire national poll.

Ventura, which improved to 2-0 Saturday with a 35-7 rout of Antelope Valley Saturday, will host local rival Santa Barbara City in the annual "Big Game Trophy" matchup this weekend at Larrabee Stadium.

Defending SoCal champion Mount San Antonio College (2-0) took over the No. 1 ranking after previous No. 1 City College of San Francisco was upset by No. 13 Fresno City, 24-17. Fresno rose to No. 5 in this week's ranking.

Blinn (Tex.), College of the Canyons and Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C. round out the top 5.

Moorpark College (2-0) remains unranked and are not listed in the poll's "teams to watch." Meanwhile, Fullerton College (2-0), who visits Moorpark Saturday, rose to No. 18

Moorpark College sophomore Dan Mosier leads Southern California in rushing after two games.

The former Royal High star, who did not play the 2005 or 2007 seasons because of knee soreness, is now pain free and is running like it.

Mosier has rushed for 351 yards and five touchdowns on 48 carries through two games.

Rivals from Northern Conference foes Canyons and Bakersfield sit just behind Mosier in the No. 2 and No. 3 slots. Fred Winborn of Canyons has run for 350 yards and Bruce Frieson of Bakersfield has run for 318 yards.

Ventura County is place for community college touchdowns through two weeks of the football season.

Moorpark College RB Dan Mosier has six touchdowns, five rushing and one receiving, to lead Southern California along with Canyons big-play receiver Hayo Carpenter.

Ventura College WR Tim Pope has five touchdowns, all receiving.

Oxnard College athletic director Tim Harrison has been hired as the dean of the Ventura College athletic department, according to human resources documents on VCCCD.edu.

Harrison, hired less than a year ago at Oxnard, will fill the void left by reassigned dean Steve Tobias on Oct. 1.

"It was clear that he does his homework and he tends to his business," said Ventura president Robin Calote late Sunday. "That's what we need... someone who cares about the business and will work hard with the faculty to build on what is already a successful path."

More to come.

Here's the coverage of yesterday's college football smorgasbord in today's Star:

NCAA DIVISION I

USC 35, Ohio State 3: Trojans on top of their game by Joe Curley in Los Angeles

BYU 59, UCLA 0: UCLA embarrassed by Associated Press in Provo, Utah.

NCAA DIVISION III

Willamettte 31, Cal Lutheran 17: CLU doesn't follow script by Rhiannon Potkey in Thousand Oaks

COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Ventura College 35, Antelope Valley 7:Balanced approach leads VC by Loren Ledin in Ventura

Moorpark College 51, West Los Angeles 48:A little defenseA little defense goes a long way by David Lassen in Culver City

COLLEGE NOTEBOOK

UCLA's Reichl gains new appreciation for running by Rhiannon Potkey

There was one bright spot amid the penalties and turnovers that plagued Cal Lutheran's offense in its 31-17 season-opening loss to Willamette yesterday at Mt. Clef Stadium.

Junior running back Antoine Adams finished with 73 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries in the first start of his CLU career.

UCLA starting center Micah Reed (Nordhoff High) could be out for a few weeks after historic spraining the medial collateral ligament in his right knee during the third quarter of UCLA's 59-0 loss to No. 18 BYU in Provo, Utah yesterday.

Reed, one of only two players with starting experience on UCLA's offensive line, will undergo an MRI exam tomorrow. He is not expected to play when UCLA begin its Pac-10 Conference season on Saturday against Arizona at the Rose Bowl.

UCLA's loss to BYU was its biggest loss since a 76-0 drubbing to USC in 1929.

-- Star teammate Rhiannon Potkey and Joe Curley

The SCFA's Northern Conference, featuring the Moorpark College and Ventura College football teams, is 8-6 through two weeks of the CCCAA season. Six of the conference's seven teams were part of the former Western State Conference.

By comparison, the Central and Southern conferences are both 12-2. You can find the updated scores and standings here.

The Northern Conference results for Saturday, Sept. 13 were:
Moorpark 51, West Los Angeles 48
Ventura 35, Antelope Valley 7
College of the Canyons 56, Santa Barbara City 6
Glendale 75, East Los Angeles 21
Los Angeles Valley 17, Bakersfield 13
Compton 42, Pasadena 34
Reedley 31, Hancock 17

Besides the two local games, the results that stick out are the huge upset L.A. Valley put on Bakersfield and the 75 points Glendale put on the board one week after being upset by West L.A.

The Northern Conference standings after Week 2 read:
Canyons 2-0
Ventura 2-0
Moorpark 2-0
Hancock 1-1
Glendale 1-1
Bakersfield 0-2
Pasadena 0-2

Obviously, early losses by Bakersfield and Hancock makes the conference race seemingly a Route 118/126 competition between Canyons, Moorpark and Ventura.

If that's the case, the advantage goes to Canyons, as the Valencia school hosts both county teams -- Moorpark on Oct. 11 and Ventura on Oct. 25. The 41st Citrus Cup game, Moorpark at Ventura, is the season finale for both teams on Nov. 15.

Sophomore receiver Tim Pope caught two more passes as the Ventura College football team improved to 2-0 with a 35-7 home win over Antelope Valley College at Larrabee Stadium.

All three phases of the game had a hand in scoring for the 2-0 Pirates.

QB Lee Mondol threw scoring strikes of 28 and 50 yards to Pope and RB Michael Lee leaped into the end zone with a 1-yard run. Freshman defensive back Travaun Nixon returned a fumble 41 yards for a TD. VC actually opened the scoring with a 2-yard end around by WR Patrick Herbert, after Herbert returned a blocked punt 22 yards to the Antelope Valley 2.

As expected, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel was impressed by USC:

"I've been impressed with USC. They are not fancy but their protection is very good and their run game is solid and they are balanced, always 50-50 run and pass. Their quarterback has pretty good feet and kept plays alive. He's a good fourth-year guy. He knew when to throw the ball away a few times. They were good across the board."

(on USC's pressure)

"I think that's their style. They put pressure on you. They certainly didn't want us to have time to have big plays or throw downfield."

Ohio State's true freshman quarterback on the Buckeyes' 35-3 loss to USC:

Game notes:

--USC, which leads the series 12-9-1, has won six in a row against Ohio State and eight in a row against the Big Ten Conference.
-- USC has now held Ohio State to three points or less in the last four meetings at the Coliseum: 42-3 in 1989, 32-3 in 1963 and 17-0 in 1959.
-- USC snapped Ohio State's 141-game streak of scoring at least one touchdown. The last time Ohio State was kept out of the end zone was Nov. 23, 1996 in a 13-9 loss to Michigan.

Local notes:

-- Maualuga's 48-yard interception return for a touchdown was USC's first pick 6 since Darnell Bing at Hawaii on Sept. 3, 2005. Maualuga is a former St. Bonaventure High student.
-- Clay Matthews' strip-sack with 59 seconds left in the first half gives him two sacks and two forced fumbles for the season. Matthews' is an Agoura High graduate.
-- Oxnard defensive backs Josh Pinkard and Kevin Thomas both tallied passes defensed. Pinkard is a Hueneme High product and Thomas went to Rio Mesa High.

USC linebacker and former St. Bonaventure High student Rey Maualuga isn't too impressed with the Trojans' No. 1 ranking:

"That number is just a number... It doesn't mean anything.

"This has only been two games, there is still a lot to prove."

USC has opened the season by outscoring two opponents from BCS conferences 87-10. The conference built from those two poundings was summed up by defensive tackle Fili Moala:

"If we come to play like this every single week and stay humble, no one can touch us."

Ohio State freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor showed why he was perhaps the most sought-after recruit in the country in his class.

Pryor was perhaps the Buckeyes' top offensive weapon in Saturday's 35-3 loss at USC, completing 7 of 9 passes for 52 yards and running 11 times for 40 yards.

"We thought they might use him this much just to keep us off guard," said USC defensive tackle Fili Moala. "But we see so many running quarterbacks in our conference."

More in a bit

The capacity crowd of 93,607 at a renovated Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is the largest crowd in this venue since the 1993 UCLA-USC game.

Trailing for more than three quarters, the Moorpark College football team had to dig deep for its dramatic 51-48 win over West Los Angeles College Saturday afternoon in Culver City.

Which pleased head coach Jim Bittner.

"We know they're not going to quit," said Bittner. "That's a good sign. We can build on that."

Quarterback Donald Senegal, making his first college start, was perhaps more impressed with his teammates.

"We're always faced with adversity," said Senegal, "and we always get through it. This is the best team I've ever played on in my life. These guys, they're as tough as nails. ...
"This is going to carry us through the whole season. We're going to do some big things."

Click on the jump for the full box, which includes 223 yards rushing for Dan Mosier, 324 yards passing for Senegal, and more than 500 yards of total offense for West LA quarterback Rosenvall.

-- Star teammate David Lassen was in Culver City to watch the game, keep statistics and interview the players and coaches.

One play after his teammates block a punt, Patrick Herbert runs in a 1-yard touchdown run to give No. 6 Ventura a 7-0 lead seven minutes into its home opener against No. 20 Antelope Valley at Larrabee Stadium.

Hebert had returned the blocked punt but was ruled out at the 1-yard line.

The Trojans are in complete control. USC defensive end Clay Matthews, an Agoura High product, just sacked Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman, jarring the ball loose with 59 seconds to play in the first half.

USC defensive end Kyle Moore recovered the fumble at the Buckeyes' 38-yard line and the Trojans were in position to put the game away.

But the Trojans failed to add to their 21-3 lead as Mark Sanchez was intercepted in the end zone by Chimdi Chekwa.

Dick Butkus is in the house and USC linebacker Rey Maualuga, a former St. Bonaventure High student, just made the biggest play thus far in his Butkus Award duel with Ohio State's James Laurinaitis.

Maualuga stepped in front of Brian Hartline to intercept Todd Boeckman's pass and returned the turnover 38 yards for a touchdown to push USC ahead, 21-3, with 2:49 to play in the first half.

It is Maualuga's first collegiate touchdown.

USC cornerback Kevin Thomas, a Rio Mesa High product, drew some "oohs" from the crowd with a big hit on Ohio State WR Dane Sanzenbacher midway through the second quarter.

The pass play picked up a first down on a third-and-2 for Ohio State, but the drive eventually stalled and Ryan Pretorius missed a 46-yard field goal.

USC still leads 14-6 with 4:06 left in the first half.

Junior defensive back Josh Pinkard, a Hueneme High product, stopped Ohio State's third drive in Saturday night's "Collision at the Coliseum."

On third-and-6 from the Ohio State 24, Ohio State QB Todd Boeckman had receiver Brian Hartline down the right sideline but Pinkard made a diving play to break up the pass.

After a punt, USC now takes over at its 37.

Ohio State tailback Chris "Beanie" Wells, one of the top running backs in the country, has not suited up and, as announced Friday by Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, will not play.

Other lineup changes include WR Damien Williams and DE Kyle Moore will start for USC.

Both coaches are in their eighth season at their respective schools -- USC coach Pete Carroll is 77-14 while Ohio State coach Jim Tressel is 75-16. Both have one BCS title.

Donald Senegal capped off his first collegiate start with an 8-yard game-winning touchdown pass to freshman Mark Urbina with 26 seconds to play as the Moorpark College football team beat feisty West Los Angeles, 51-48, Saturday afternoon in Culver City.

Senegal threw for 368 yards and two TDs. RB Danny Mosier ran for more than 200 yards and scored four TDs.

Yet Moorpark trailed 48-45 with a first and goal from the West LA 8-yard line with 34 seconds to play.

Moorpark, ranked No. 5 in Southern California, improves to 2-0.

-- Thanks to Star teammate David Lassen for the updates from Culver City.

Danny Mosier's fourth TD of the day and sixth TD of the young season pulls the Moorpark College football team within 48-45 with 6:27 to play.

Mosier has 208 yards on 25 carries, three rushing TDs and a receiving TD.

A 75-yard touchdown run by sophomore tailback Dan Mosier has pulled the Moorpark College football team within 34-31 after three quarters at West Los Angeles College.

Mosier, who also caught a 15-yard touchdown pass earlier in the quarter, broke loose in the final play of the quarter. The former Royal High star now has five touchdowns a game and three quarters into the season.

West L.A. quarterback Ryan Rosenthal threw a 73-yard scoring strike earlier in the quarter. He now has thrown for 359 yards and 4 TDs.

Star teammate David Lassen is covering No. 5 Moorpark College's visit to West Los Angeles this afternoon:

The Raiders trail 27-17 at the half, despite another touchdown run by sophomore Dan Mosier and a 1-yard run by quarterback Donald Senegal, who was elevated to the starting lineup today.

West L.A. quarterback Ryan Rosenthal has completed 19 of 22 passes for more than 250 yards at the half, which included one of the wildest scoring plays the veteran Lassen has ever seen.

Rosenthal caught his own deflected shovel pass and ran 34-yards for a touchdown. Now how do you score that, asked Lassen? Is is a run or a pass?

Here's advance in today's paper my of the Moorpark College football team's visit to West Los Angeles and Ventura College's home opener against Antelope Valley.

Click the jump for my preview capsules.

Here's my preview of today's "Collision at the Coliseum" between No. 1 USC and No. 5 Ohio State.

Even though they have graduated to the bigger time, players never forget their high school days.

UCLA center Micah Reed is keeping a close eye on the debut of Nordhoff head coach Tony Henney

"I am excited. He coached me in Pop Warner and for one year at Nordhoff," Reed said. "When he got the head job, I was really stoked because we hang out a lot and are really good friends."

Reed is also tracking the Buena High coaching debut of the man who built Nordhoff football -- Cliff Farrar.

"It's a little weird, but I think it will be good for him because you can really see what he can do with some athletes," Reed said. "At Nordhoff, it's always been blue-collar guys who just work hard and he has done well with them."

BYU junior tight end Dennis Pitta, who leads the nation in receiving yards per game, needed to know one last thing before ending a recent phone interview

"How does Moorpark look this season?" asked Pitta, in reference to his alma mater. "How do you think they will do in the Marmonte League?"

Pitta also wanted a message relayed, "Tell Coach (Tim) Lins I said hello."

-- Star teammate Rhiannon Potkey in Westwood

(FYI Dennis, I covered Moorpark's opening win against Mayfair and they looked excellent. They've got two great weapons in RB Austin Edmonson and WR Tim Vizzi ahead of one of the county's best offensive lines and the usual stout Musketeer defense. They looked like one of the Marmonte League contenders. -- Joe Curley)

The season-opening victory over Tennessee was sweet for the UCLA football players, but they know they can't savor it any longer.

The Bruins head to Provo, Utah on Saturday to play another No. 18-ranked team in BYU.

"One of Coach (Norm) Chow's biggest things this year is FIDO - Forget It and Drive On," said UCLA senior center Micah Reed, a Nordhoff High graduate. "So that is really good for us to keep in mind. We are going to have some ups and downs, but we just have to let them go and get through them."

The Cal Lutheran football team opens the season at home on Saturday against Willamette (Ore.).

The Kingsmen will have at least three freshmen playing prominent roles on offense.

The line will include a pair of freshmen starters in guard Giovanni Lapp and center Thomas Bouthillier and Derek Martinez is competing for the No. 1 spot at running back.

Junior Antoine Adams will get the start Saturday, but CLU head coach Ben McEnroe said Martinez will get significant playing time

"Derek is getting better every day," CLU head coach Ben McEnroe said. "He is a bigger-bodied guy who has nice feet. He is not going to be the guy to hit the home run for you, but he has great vision and is a physical runner."

-- From Star teammate Rhiannon Potkey with CLU