Pirates fall short to Moorpark

MOORPARK -- Time of possession did not favor the Orange Coast College football team on Saturday night and as a result, the Pirates came up just short against the Moorpark College Raiders, 39-31, at Griffin Stadium.

With 106 plays conducted by the Raiders (only 64 for Coast) and 39:04 in offensive possession by the Raiders (only 20:56 for Coast), the Pirates saw themselves chasing the Moorpark offense for most of the night.

Raider quarterback Zach LaBar threw for 303 yards and two touchdowns on 29-of-37 passing, with his favorite target being Cody Tuttle, who set a MC record with 14 receptions for 195 yards and one touchdown.

For the Pirates (0-3), The quarterback tandem of Alec Dombkowski and Kody Whitaker combined for four touchdown passes and 261 yards passing. Wide receiver Mark Munson led the way with seven catches for 113 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

But three costly lost fumbles by Coast helped the Raiders (1-2) keep the ball and drain minute after minute off of the clock.

With 3:02 left in the game, a 12-yard pass from Whitaker to Munson helped get the Pirates to within striking distance at 39-31, but the onside kick by Griff Amies was recovered by the Raiders. Coast held on defense and had one final drive with less than two minutes to go, but the MC defense forced a fourth-and-long, which went incomplete, giving the Raiders the win.

Whitaker's first touchdown came midway through the third quarter when he hooked up with Brandon Zuidema on a 6-yard TD pass.

The athletic ability of Dombkowski kept the Pirates in the game in the first half as the freshman QB turned two potential big-loss plays into a pair of touchdowns. Early in the second quarter, Dombkowski scrambled for his life, then fired a 45-yard strike to wide Munson, who got behind the coverage and waltzed into the end zone, giving Coast a 7-6 lead after an Amies successful PAT.

With 4:12 left in the second quarter and OCC down 19-7, Dombkowski again avoided disaster, then connected with Davasyia Hagger on a 31-yard touchdown, cutting the deficit to 19-14.

But the Raiders, who controlled the ball for most of the first half, took a 26-14 lead when Zach LaBar connected with Cody Tuttle on a 7-yard touchdown strike with 46 seconds left in the first half. Tuttle dominated the first half for the Raiders with 11 catches for 127 yards and one touchdown.

Moorpark had 62 first-half plays to 30 by the Pirates and had the ball for 19 minutes, 23 seconds of the first half to just 10:37 for Coast.

The Pirates will return to action on Saturday night at home against Fullerton College, beginning at 7 p.m.