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Moorpark opens at Santa Ana tonight
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No. 6 Moorpark (0-0) at No. 14 Santa Ana (0-0)
Santa Ana Stadium, 6 p.m.
LAST YEAR: Moorpark 9-2, Santa Ana 7-4.
SERIES HISTORY: Santa Ana leads, 3-1. Moorpark won the last meeting, 44-21, in 2002.
GAME FACTS: Two teams which combined to win their first 13 games last season look for another good start tonight. Moorpark returns several playmakers from the group that won its first seven games last year, including WR Conrad Meadows (41 rec., 701 yards, 7 TDs). Freshmen Bryan Randolph, Donald Senegal and Josiah Casella are still vying for the starting QB position. Santa Ana is coming off its best season since 1999, going perfect through six games before dropping four of its last five, including the Western State Conference Bowl to Glendale. In the preseason media poll, the Dons were selected third in the Mission Conference's National Division behind powerhouses Saddleback and Mount San Antonio. But they have to replace RB Brian Allen, who led the Mission with 1,236 yards rushing and 1,553 all-purpose yards, QB Kasey Peters, who finished third with 2,3337 yards passing and WR David Richmond, who led the Mission with 54 receptions for 842 yards. In Allen, Richmond and receiver DeAndre Allen, Santa Ana graduated 32 of its 43 TDs. Reserve QB Mark Iddins, who completed 4 of 7 passes for 61 yards and 1 TD last year, takes over the offense.
STORY TOOLS 
More from CollegeA single graduating class can turn rabbits into tortoises in community college football.
But, when No. 6 Moorpark and No. 14 Santa Ana college football teams open the season tonight in Orange County, both teams will be looking to recapture their early forms of a year ago.
Along the way to a pair of bowl berths last year, the two schools combined to win their first 13 games. It was two of the best starts in the state.
Moorpark started 7-0. Santa Ana was 6-0 before the strength of the Mission Conference set in and sent them reeling. They lost four of their last five games, including the WSC Bowl to Glendale.
Moorpark, ranked No. 17 in JC Gridwire's preseason national poll, knows all about the strength of the Mission Conference, one of the nation's best. It fell to the eventual state champion, Mission power El Camino, in the first round of the state playoffs and will face Saddleback, ranked No. 10 nationally, in its home opener next weekend.
"We have some new guys," said coach Jim Bittner. "They're all freshman. It's going to take some time."
It didn't look that way last weekend, when Moorpark had a positive scrimmage against El Camino.
"We had a pretty good couple of series," said safety Wesley Beavers. "We were happy with it."
The game is Santa Ana Stadium's collegiate debut after upward of $10 million in renovations, including a new artificial surface, a new scoreboard and video screen.
The 77-year-old venue plays home to the Dons and five high school teams, including national power Santa Ana Mater Dei.
The biggest question for the Raiders is who will start in the backfield. Bittner, who often uses the first two weeks of the season to sort through his offensive option has three quarterbacks and eight running backs at his fingertips.
Simi Valley High graduate Brian Randolph and felling freshman Donald Senegal and Josiah Casella could all see time behind center.
"We have a lot of new plays this year," said receiver Conrad Meadows. "We're just hoping that a quarterback steps up."
Jacksonville, Fla., native Nick Daniels, a College of the Canyons transfer, leads a running back group that includes Bostonian Jeffrey Enayo and Royal High product Marcus Hunt.
"We have five or six running backs that can really carry the load," said guard Jeff Wurts.
The Raiders are also hoping tackle Ryan Sorensen can recover from a knee injury in time to boost the offensive line.
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