SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOWL: MOORPARK HOPING, NOT MOPING.

Byline: Heather Gripp Daily News Staff Writer

The bowl-selection committee is about the only thing capable of standing in the way of the Moorpark College football team's ideal season. The Raiders have a chance to finish with the most victories in school history after going 9-1 and winning a second straight Western State Conference Southern Division title and earning a spot in their 11 consecutive bowl game.

However, it's no secret playing in the Southern California Bowl wasn't the Raiders' first choice of postseason games. In fact, it wasn't even their third choice. With that in mind, today's 1 p.m. contest at Chaffey College is about more than just beating the Panthers.

``At first we thought about not going,'' said Moorpark sophomore cornerback Russel Russell, ``but then we realized we came all the way this far, we might as well finish it. We want to show the bowl committee we're better than they thought we are. We're out to prove a point.''

The Raiders, ranked 15th in the nation, considered facing Long Beach, but since Long Beach is the top team in the state, it was obligated to Southern California's No. 2 team, Palomar, which lost to Long Beach earlier this season. The Raiders also hoped for a berth in the Strawberry Bowl against Cerritos or the right to host the Western State Conference Bowl, as WSC champions traditionally do.

``They did everything you're supposed to do to host a bowl game,'' Chaffey coach Carl Beach said, ``but the state felt otherwise. We're glad they accepted the invitation to play here. We're excited to be playing such a great team.''

The Panthers (8-2) qualified for their second bowl game in three years by winning the Foothill Conference Northern Division championship.

Unlike Moorpark, which relies on a running game anchored by Carl Richardson and Emory Holmes, the Panthers find success through passing. Sophomore Matt Georgia was among conference leaders with 148 completed passes for 2,467 yards and 21 touchdowns.

``We get good pass protection and we've got good receivers,'' Georgia said. ``It makes it hard not to be successful.''

A solid Chaffey defense, which often uses an eight- or nine-man front, could mandate a more balanced attack by the Raiders.

``We've shown game in and game out we can throw,'' said Moorpark coach Jim Bittner, the WSC Southern Division's coach of the year. ``It's just a matter of we choose to run it because we're capable of running. When we do pass, it usually works to our advantage because they have so many people lined up to stop the run.''

Quarterback Bryan Spencer is one of 15 Raiders receiving all-conference recognition. Although his opportunities to show off his accurate arm have been limited, Spencer keeps the pressure on the opposition with his running ability.

Having its players denied a chance to play in a bowl game last year is one of the reasons Moorpark opted to go ahead and play in the Southern California Bowl. Poor field conditions due to excessive rain led to the cancellation of last season's WSC Bowl.

``It's a lot more special for us sophomores since we didn't get to play last year,'' Russell said. ``We want to go out with a win.''