CARRY THE LOAD WILLIAMS LEADING WITH LEGS, HEART.

Byline: Chris Cocoles Staff Writer

MOORPARK - When the Moorpark High football coaches watched footage of the Thousand Oaks game, one play stood out.

It was just an 8-yard gain, but Musketeers offensive coordinator John Kidder, a former UCLA offensive lineman, was in awe of the effort from senior running back Brandon Williams.

``I think he ran over the first guy and lowered his shoulder on the second. There were four or five guys that had him. It took the sixth or seventh to make the tackle,'' Kidder said. ``It's one of the best runs I've seen.''

``I would have to agree,'' Musketeers coach Tim Lins said. ``That was a terrific run. He tends to gain yardage after the first hit, sometimes after the second hit and sometimes after the third.''

Williams ran away from, around and through empty-handed tacklers on the way to a third-place Marmonte League finish for Moorpark, which will play Buena of Ventura in a Southern Section Division IV playoff opener Friday night.

He rushed for 1,258 yards and 11 touchdowns in the regular season. That total would have been far higher, but he missed 1 1/2 games with a deep thigh bruise. The Musketeers also couldn't find a Week-10 opponent and played just nine games.

In the games that mattered most, Marmonte League play, Williams was at his best. He rushed for at least 147 yards in five of six games. He went for 225 at league-champion Thousand Oaks, 221 against Newbury Park, 172 at Royal of Simi Valley.

Only Westlake, which jumped to an early lead, shackled him. Williams gained 42 on just 14 attempts. He had 37, 27, 27, 29 and 29 carries in Moorpark's five other league games.

``We wanted to take away something from them and he was their best offensive weapon,'' Westlake coach Jim Benkert said. ``We centered our defense around the fact that he was not going to beat us. We packed it in to stop him. Where he went, we went.''

But even Benkert calls Williams ``a heck of a back.'' That includes at cornerback, where he also starts and rarely leaves the field except for the occasional breather.

When he was hurt early in the third quarter against Royal of Simi Valley and subsequently sat out the Channel Islands game, Williams was crushed. Also a baseball player, he holds a passion for the sports he plays at Moorpark.

``This is pretty much the only thing I care about besides my family. I trust most of (the Musketeers players) with my life,'' he said, an indicator it's difficult for the coaches to drag him off the field.

``I really don't want breaks. Unless I'm really, really tired, which is not that often. I can get in my mind before the game, `I'm not going to be tired. I won't be tired. And if I do get tired, it's just going to be for one play.' ''

He is the kind of workaholic who literally can carry the load on an 80-yard drive. At Thousand Oaks, the Musketeers tested that theory.

``We said, `Let's see if he can carry us,' '' Kidder said. ``And he did.''

On one drive, quarterback Aaron Garcia handed off to Williams nine consecutive plays. His first two attempts went for 21 and 33 yards. But the next seven were more typical of Williams' strengths: 9 yards, 5 yards, 8 yards. Straight-ahead power running. Included was the previously mentioned pinball-machine gain so cherished by the coaches.

On the 10th play of the drive, Garcia scrambled for the 3-yard touchdown, but everyone on the Moorpark sideline realized who was responsible for the additional 77 yards. Although a humble Williams credits the offensive line for his success.

``For his position, he's pretty darn durable,'' Lins said. ``For the amount of hits that he takes on 28 or 30 carries, how many carries he has each game. He's been able to take a lot of punishment.''

His teammates notice what Williams means to the Musketeers. Senior fullback/defensive back Charlie Brown is his closest friend on the team. Brown moved to the area five years ago and hit it off immediately with Williams.

``We're kind of the best of buds. We've grown up in that sense. It's been an experience,'' said Brown, who like many of his teammates have followed Williams' lead this year.

``Brandon's really important to us, as is everyone else on the team. We kind of look up to him. When he performs well, we do, too. When it all comes together and he's working well and we're working well, everything goes the way it should be.''

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Moorpark's Brandon Williams is a tireless worker for the Musketeers. In addition to rushing for more than 1,200 yards this season, Williams is the starting cornerback.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News