The fall season has kicked off, literally.

The Ventura College women's soccer team opened with a bang, thrashing host DeAnza College, 7-0, Saturday night in the Bay Area. Daisy Cardona, the freshman from Buena High, scored twice on her collegiate debut.

The Oxnard College women's soccer team has yet to concede a goal through two matches after a scoreless draw with Fullerton Saturday and a 1-0 win over Compton Tuesday. Freshman goalkeeper Maria Lazaro already has her first two collegiate clean sheets.

The Oxnard men open Friday at Chaffey College.

The Moorpark College soccer teams opened with losses Tuesday. The Moorpark women fell 2-0 to Antelope Valley. The Moorpark men fell 4-1 to Irvine Valley Tuesday. Freshman A.J. Felton scored on 55 minutes for the lone Raiders goal.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Ventura College football team wrapped up its preseason training camp Friday night with a "mock game" at the VC Sportsplex.

Highlights included a Matt Koman's 24-yard scoring strike to Kendall Newsome, running back Jalen Craver's 25-yard touchdown run and Scotty Wong's 80-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Wong's interception was one of four by the Pirates' defense, including one each by Oak Park High product Jeremy Chang and safety Mike Campbell.

Chase Smith picked up plenty of work as the backup quarterback. The athletic freshman from Buena High had spent much of training camp as a receiver.

"I'm just trying to learn everything," said Smith.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"That game's coming up awful fast."

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

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

All four of the Ventura College football team's quarterbacks threw touchdown passes in the Pirates' scrimmage last weekend.

Transfers Matt Koman and Ebahn Feathers, who were expected to compete for the starting job, both connected for scores, as did freshmen Chase Smith, a Buena High product, and Kamaka Lewis.

"They were very efficient," said Mooshagian. "There was only four bad decisions in the last scrimmage, so I was pleased with that."

Three of the scoring strikes went to a trio of new receivers -- Kendall Newsome, Elijah Orosco and Laturus Johnson.

With veterans like Tim Vizzi and Kordarius Rice already known products, Mooshagian has used the scrimmages to test the new blood.

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

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

Which makes tonight's finale the rubber match.

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

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

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

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

The quarterback competition at Ventura College took a back seat this week when Ebahn Feathers, a transfer from Fresno State, returned home to the Central Valley because of a serious family issue.

"I don't know what's going to happen with Ebahn," said Ventura coach Steve Mooshagian. "No matter what he decides to do I'm going to support him... It's so unpredictable."

There is no schedule for his return.

"It's a day-to-day thing," said Mooshagian. "I'm not pushing him at all. Whatever happens, happens."

A sophomore-laden back line, a recruiting class full of promising freshman and one big-name transfer.

That's why the Ventura College women's soccer team will open up the season this weekend with the highest preseason ranking in school history.

The Pirates were ranked No. 5 when the National Soccer Coaches Association of America released its preseason two-year school poll.

"We're ranked pretty high," said Ventura coach Steve Hoffman, "and with the schedule we've got, we'll sink or swim."

Four of the Top 20 teams in the country are on the Pirates' schedule, including No. 7 Fresno City, No. 10 Santiago Canyon, No. 12 Cypress and No. 18 Los Angeles Pierce.

San Bernardino Valley, which ended the Pirates' season in last December's regional finals, is the nation's preseason No. 1.

After scrimmaging West Valley College Thursday in Saratoga, Ventura will open its season Saturday at DeAnza College in Cupertino.

Ventura returns several big pieces from a back line that kept 11 clean sheets a year ago, including goalkeeper Raelene Moreno, defenders Evelyn Medina, Kylee Haughton and Katelen Norris and midfielder Whitney Rosenheim.

The freshman class includes former Buena High forward Daisy Cardona, who scored in Thursday's scrimmage, and midfielder Hannah Ritchie returns to the team after a redshirt season.

"We've got good depth," said Hoffman. "It's a special group this year."

The Pirates received a big boost when former Buena High star Megan Erskine, who was called into a U.S. women's Under-20 national team camp in April, transferred in after playing 16 games for San Diego State last fall.

"It's like having a Joy Barry or a Chrissy Sanford," said Hoffman, comparing Erskine to the program's first two All-Americans.

Ventura will host its annual B.K. Sports Community College Classic next week, facing Long Beach City Sept. 1 and Cypress Sept. 3.

Featuring what may be a program record for sophomores, the Oxnard College women's soccer team will host its annual Seabreeze tournament this weekend

Second-year head coach Bill Propster will have as many as 12 sophomores at his disposal in the season-opening match against

Fullerton Saturday at 10 a.m., including captains Marlene Valdez and Jessica Martinez, as well as midfielder Alma Izaquierdo.

"Let's see if we can set a record here," said Propster, jokingly.

Citrus, East Los Angeles, Antelope Valley, Sequoias, MiraCosta and Sacramento City will also be in town for the tournament.

The Moorpark women will scrimmage a club team today at 4:30 p.m. before opening its season Tuesday at Antelope Valley.

Oxnard College men's soccer coach Ross Greaney should also check out the NSCAA preseason rankings.

The defending Western State Conference champion Condors will welcome three members of the national preseason Top 20 to Oxnard this fall -- No. 13 Santa Ana Sept. 9, No. 14 Cerritos Sept. 13 and No. 17 Santa Barbara City Oct. 21.

Oxnard was eliminated from the Southern California regional playoffs last November by No. 3 Mount San Antonio.

Moorpark College athletic director Howard Davis was surprised to hear longtime track coach Bob MacKay had accepted a position coaching football and track at Modesto Junior College, according to a Aug. 18 story in the Modesto Bee.

"As far as the college is concerned, we don't know anything," said Davis. "On an official basis, he hasn't told us anything."

Coaching the Moorpark throwers for the past 11 years, MacKay, who did not return a phone message Thursday, had coached 18 individual state champions. During his tenure, the Moorpark men won the 2003 state championship and finished state runners-up in 2005, 2006 and 2009.

Moorpark products Lucais MacKay won the NCAA Division I hammer title in 2003 and Kibwe Johnson is the reigning U.S. champion in the hammer throw.

Moorpark is currently in the process of hiring a head coach for the men's track team.

"After we hire a head coach, I'm going to talk to HR about my suspicions," said Davis. "It's a little strange. But it's not completely unexpected... People have to do what they have to do."

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

Then they moved on.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"That's a plus," said Mooshagian.

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

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

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

Other additions to the Ventura staff were especially familiar to Mooshagian, who has added his son, Bobby Mooshagian, and his potential future-son-in-law, Tyson Butler.

The younger Mooshagian will coach receivers and work as the program's video coordinator.

"That's such an art now with the computers," said the elder Mooshagian.

Butler will coach running backs. Both played at Sacramento State and coached with Mooshagian at Feather River in 2009.

Former NFL safety Michael Stewart, who played with the Rams and Dolphins from 1987-1993 has also joined the staff. Stewart, who played at Fresno State when Mooshagian was an assistant there, is actually a Bakersfield College product.

Stewart lives in Thousand Oaks and his sons Andru and Deveraux have played for Oaks Christian in recent years.

Some returning coaches have had their duties altered.

Jason Bendinelli, formerly the offensive line and tight ends coach, has been promoted to offensive coordinator.

"He's done a great job," said Mooshagian, who retains playcalling duties. "He understands all aspects of the offense. He's very efficient."

Tom Lawrence, who remains the special teams coordinator, takes over tight ends.

Mooshagian said the additions were made necessary by a bigger roster. Ventura began camp with 130 players.

Moorpark College football will play six home games this season. Its local rivalry game with Los Angeles Pierce on Sept. 10 has been moved to Moorpark due to construction delays to Shepard Stadium.

Kickoff is now set for 6 p.m. at Griffin Stadium. No word on which school will be the official host.

"I don't know in terms of the jerseys," said Moorpark athletic director Howard Davis, "but we're going to run everything like its our home game."