JUNIOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL: EYE ON ANOTHER DESERT.Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer MOORPARK - For the first time since they met as 9-year-olds with their families stationed at the same Air Force base in England, Jason Napoleon is playing football on a separate field from Rudy Burgess this season. More than 400 miles from his best friend, Napoleon is in his freshman season as a do-everything back at Moorpark College Moorpark College is a California-state funded community college located on a 134 acre (542,000 m²) property reclining on a hill in Moorpark, a town in Ventura County, California. , living with four teammates in close quarters close quarters Noun, pl at close quarters a. engaged in hand-to-hand combat b. very near together Noun 1. and dreaming of the college football good life. Meanwhile, Burgess is a cell-phone call away at Arizona State, spending his days as a redshirt freshman on the Sun Devils' scout team In sports, the scout team, also referred to as a practice team or practice squad, is a group of players on a team whose task is to emulate future opponents for the featured (or starting) players. , playing the part of UCLA's Craig Bragg Bold text Craig Milton Bragg (born March 15, 1982 in San Jose, California) is an American football wide receiver. He attended UCLA and Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, CA. and Stanford's Luke Powell in practice. Yet the bond between the two former Desert High of Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. stars is as unbreakable as ever - to the point that they might be reunited as teammates someday. ``It'd be real funny if we end up on the same team again,'' Napoleon said. ``(Rudy and I) were real good together. I'm more than likely going to end up going out there. It's that strong.'' Napoleon is fast making a name for himself on the No. 16 Raiders (5-3, 5-0 Western State Conference). He delivered an electrifying e·lec·tri·fy tr.v. e·lec·tri·fied, e·lec·tri·fy·ing, e·lec·tri·fies 1. To produce electric charge on or in (a conductor). 2. a. 94-yard kickoff return in last week's 34-21 victory at Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. , the second consecutive game in which Napoleon scored. ``He's got a lot to look forward to,'' sophomore running back Greg Morris said. ``Next year, this is going to be his.'' After leading Desert to the Southern Section Div. XII championship game, Napoleon was one of the area's hottest junior college recruits this spring. He was pursued by Arizona State (like Burgess) but didn't have the grades coming out of high school. That left Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley , Bakersfield and Moorpark vying for Napoleon's services. And Moorpark coach Jim Bittner won the battle by calling Burgess every other day for a month, convincing him to visit the campus. ``One of our coaches knew somebody who had coached him in an all-star game,'' Bittner said. ``He said, 'This guy is really something else. He's a great player, you have to contact him.' '' Napoleon said he liked the environment at Moorpark best. He described living outside an Air Force base for the first time in years as being like ``a free world.'' Napoleon also has stayed in close contact with Burgess, calling at least twice a week. The irony is that Burgess is enjoying the life Napoleon wants, filled with computer labs and training tables that are nonexistent non·ex·is·tence n. 1. The condition of not existing. 2. Something that does not exist. non in community college football. Burgess said he is trying to keep his coaches in the know about Napoleon. He found a Moorpark game tape lying around the ASU ASU Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ) ASU Appalachian State University ASU Arkansas State University ASU Angelo State University ASU Alabama State University ASU Australian Services Union offices this season and borrowed it to watch Napoleon play. ``He looked pretty good,'' Burgess said. ``One of his goals is to come out here, and I'm trying to put in a good word about him as often as I can.'' --Playoff picture: With two regular-season games left, Moorpark is in a must-win situation tonight at 7 at Hancock (6-2, 4-1). Moorpark needs to win in Santa Maria to set up a Nov. 15 showdown against College of the Canyons College of the Canyons is one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the state. According to the National Junior College Research Association, College of the Canyons consistently ranks in the top 50 community colleges in the nation. for the North Division title. Ranked No. 1 in Southern California, Canyons (8-0, 5-0) will host Bakersfield (5-3, 3-2) tonight at 7 and can all but officially clinch an at-large berth into the eight-team regional playoffs with a victory. But Canyons has suspended four players - Brandon Fuselier, Suki Peko, Daniel Pina and RoShawn Marshall - from the game for violating team rules. Marshall is the only one who will dress, though coach Chuck Lyon said he would ``try not to play him.'' Other games today: Ventura (4-4, 2-3) at Valley (1-7, 0-5), 1 p.m.; Santa Barbara (2-6, 1-4) at Pierce (1-7, 0-5), 7 p.m.; Santa Monica (5-3, 4-1) at Glendale (2-6, 2-3), 1 p.m.; Grossmont (9-0, 7-0) at Antelope Valley (5-3, 4-2), 1 p.m.; Cal Lutheran (4-3, 3-1) at Occidental (4-2, 1-2), 1 p.m. Ross Siler, (818) 713-3610 ross.siler(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Moorpark running back Jason Napoleon could join a former Desert High teammate at Arizona State. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News |
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