Moorpark Edges Past Oak Park

MOORPARK — Senior running back Bryan Wilkins had just rushed for 151 yards and four touchdowns in 34 carries to lead Moorpark to a 35-34 victory over Oak Park on Friday night in a game that saw five lead changes between two undefeated teams.

And there was Wilkins in the middle of a throng of Oak Park players, shaking hands, hugging and consoling old friends. Wilkins played for Oak Park as a freshman. But make no mistake, his heart and home are now in Moorpark.

“This win . . . I don’t know how to describe it,” Wilkins said. “Against my old coach, my old friends. They’re my friends, but for 48 minutes they’re not my friends.”

Who could blame Oak Park’s players if they felt a little sorry for themselves afterward? Oak Park (4-1) outgained Moorpark, 278-215, and took a 34-29 lead with 4 minutes 9 seconds left. But the Eagles couldn’t stop Wilkins and they couldn’t stop celebrating after the go-ahead score.

A 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, two delay-of-game penalties on out-of-bounds kicks and a face-mask penalty gave Moorpark the ball at the Eagle 35. Five plays later, Wilkins dove three yards for the winning touchdown.

“I was thinking we scored a little too soon,” Oak Park Coach Dick Billingsley said.

After Oak Park tied the score, 14-14, on a 14-yard touchdown pass play from Ron Allen to Ryan Johnson with 46 seconds left in the first half, Tyler Dritz raced 60 yards with the ensuing kickoff to give Moorpark (5-0) a first down at the Oak Park 27.

After Bryan Paul was sacked, he found David Burns on a slant pattern for a 31-yard touchdown with five seconds left to give Moorpark a 21-14 lead.

Oak Park took a 28-21 lead in the third quarter on an eight-yard run by quarterback Ron Allen and a 20-yard Allen touchdown pass to Dan Heckman. Allen completed 10 of 15 for 166 yards and two touchdowns.

Wilkins put Moorpark back on top, 29-28, with a one-yard scoring run and a two-point conversion run before Johnson, who gained 92 yards in 17 carries, countered for the Eagles with a 15-yard touchdown run.

But Wilkins, Johnson’s old classmate, had the final word.