Moorpark runs out to 35-14 win

Offensively, Moorpark knew it had to keep its options open and then adjust based on Newbury Park’s defensive formations.

“We can run and we can pass,” Musketeers senior tailback Austin Edmonson said. “Fortunately, today we ran more than we passed.”

Defensively, Moorpark knew it had to limit the running game of Notre Dame-bound Cameron Roberson.

“We knew if we stopped Roberson, we would win the game,” Moorpark senior linebacker Marc Palacios said. “That was our mentality.”

And the game plan worked.

The Musketeers, ranked eighth in the Southland by The Times, came away with a 35-14 victory over the Panthers on Friday by following their game plan.

Moorpark’s touchdowns all came on running plays. That was led by Edmonson, who had three touchdowns in a 115-yard, 18-carry effort. Senior quarterback Brian Blechen (10 rushes for 70 yards and one touchdown) and junior tailback Tyler Peterson (eight rushes for 73 yards and one touchdown) also contributed to the running game. Blechen shared quarterback duties with senior Brody Rohach and combined for only one pass completion for 70 yards.

“We got some momentum going there,” Moorpark Coach Tim Lins said of his team’s running game.

The Musketeers (5-0) didn’t allow the Panthers (4-1), however, to answer with theirs.

Roberson rushed for only 15 yards in 11 carries after entering Friday’s game with 494 yards and five touchdowns. Quarterback junior Jake Geringer was 20 for 31 for 292 yards with one touchdown and one interception, but he was sacked six times. Newbury Park committed three turnovers in the first half after not having a single turnover in its previous three games.

“Numbers are very misleading,” Newbury Park Coach Gary Fabricus said of Geringer’s performance. “But I’m sure they had very good numbers that weren’t misleading.”

It also didn’t help that the game was delayed for 30 minutes in the second quarter because of a back injury suffered by the Panthers’ senior Justin Southon. The ambulance arrived and he was taken off the field on a stretcher. Fabricus said he had an X-ray taken, but he said he was unsure of his condition after the game.

As for whether that had any emotional effect on the team?

“If anything it slowed down their momentum,” Fabricus said. “But it didn’t slow them down very long.”

-- Mark Medina

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Two-minute drill

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