No. 12 Canyons Outlasts Moorpark College 27-21

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director 

No. 12 College of the Canyons scored 24 points, highlighted by a 95-yard kickoff return from sophomore Da'Marrie Smith, in what turned out to be a decisive second quarter to outlast visiting Moorpark College 27-21 on Saturday at Cougar Stadium.

The two sides played a scoreless opening quarter before freshman running back Paden White got into the end zone on a 12-yard touchdown run with 13:57 to go in the half. White also had back-to-back runs of nine and six yards on what was a 76-yard scoring drive. Luis Rodriguez' PAT put Canyons in front 7-0. 

White and Mckenzie Parks led the Cougars' ground game with the duo rushing for 27 and 32 yards, respectively. 

Rodriguez had his name called again just a few moments later after the Raiders fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Cougars recovered the loose ball on the Moorpark 25-yard line. Three plays later the freshman kicker booted a 36-yard field goal to put Canyons further ahead at 10-0. 

COC's next score came by way of a 40-yard touchdown toss from quarterback Brady Welch to wide receiver Ray Hall who beat double coverage and climbed the ladder to haul in his fourth score of the season. The PAT from Rodriguez put Canyons in clear control at 17-0. 

Hall ended his day with three catches for 88 yards and the score.

Moorpark eventually answered back with a scoring drive of its own, culminated by an 11-yard touchdown pass from Kadyn Parr to Conley Moskot with just 18 seconds left on the clock, making it a 17-7 score.

But Smith's back-breaking kick return touchdown, his first of the season, quickly seized back any momentum the Raiders hoped to bring into the second half and gave COC a 24-7 advantage at the break.

The two sides played a scoreless third quarter that was marked by punts, turnovers and missed field goals.  

The Raiders missed a 34-yard attempt with just over four minutes to play to the quarter, but got the ball back four plays later when Welch was intercepted by Vance Harris in Moorpark territory. Welch finished the contest 4-of-17 for 100 yards the touchdown and two interceptions. 

Welch was picked off by Harris again during COC's first drive of the fourth quarter. That set up the Raiders for another field goal attempt, but this time it was blocked by COC sophomore linebacker Cain Omohundro to keep the score at 24-7. 

Moorpark finally put together another scoring drive with just over nine minutes to play in the game. Parr was able to connect on a 34-yard pass to Dameian Hernandez to put the ball on the COC 23-yard line. On third down Parr found Corbin Hale in the end zone to put the score at 24-13 after a failed PAT attempt.

Welch and company answered back with a prolonged seven-play drive that chewed four minutes off the clock and resulted in another Rodriguez field goal, this time from 33 yards out to cap the Canyons scoring at 27-13. 

Down but not completely out, Moorpark drove the ball deep into Cougars territory behind a pair of long completions from Parr. But on first down from the seven-yard line Parr attempted a shovel pass that laned in the arms of COC defensive lineman Tyrell Brown to extinguish that threat.

Brown was named the Chick-Fil-A of Valencia Player of the Game after finishing the contest with four total tackles, 1.5 sacks and the INT. 

Parr answered back once more, however, orchestrating an eight-play scoring drive that ended on a six-yard quarterback keeper for the touchdown with just 22 seconds left on the clock. The Raiders then converted on their two-point try to inch closer at 27-21, but would fall short after Canyons recovered the onside kick attempt to end the game.

Parr finished the game 26-of-37 for 288 yards and the two touchdowns, along with an interception. He also rushed for 47 yards and a touchdown on the day. 

Brown was joined by Jackson Stein (four total tackles / 1.5 sacks), Jackson Forté  (two tackles / one sack) and Ahmad Fisher (two tackles / two sacks) in keeping constant pressure on Parr.

The Cougars recorded eight tackles for loss in the game with Jake Pikor and Dylan Flowers both forcing fumbles in the game. Flowers, Adam Geukens, Zach Bowles and Tony Testa all tied for the team lead with five total tackles.

COC (6-2, 4-1) used the victory over Moorpark (3-5, 1-4) to reestablish a new winning streak, having now won back-to-back games following a week six loss to El Camino (6-2, 5-0). Those victories have the Cougars tied with Ventura College (6-2, 4-1) for second in the National Division, Northern League standings, a game behind El Camino.

Canyons will next host Bakersfield College (5-3, 3-2) in its final regular season home game Saturday, Nov. 9, at Copugar Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for noon. The Cougars are inviting all Veterans and active-duty military to attend Saturday's game free of charge (w/ valid ID). 

Stay up to date on all this season's action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. 

—Photo by Carla Sophia Velasco/COC Sports Information