The harshest defeat for the Moorpark College football team this season ended on the 1-yard line.

What may be its biggest victory sprang from the 1-yard line Saturday night.

The Raiders defense stuffed Citrus College's fourth-and-one rushing attempt on the second play of the fourth quarter, the Raiders offense abruptly marched 99 yards to the game's decisive touchdown and Moorpark scratched out a 16-7 victory in a key Western State Conference Pacific Division matchup at Griffin Stadium.

The Raiders jammed Citrus' 250-pound fullback Demarcus Flanagan shy of the goal line, thereby preserving a two-point lead. The Moorpark offense launched a 10-play, 99-yard march, ending in Xavier Walker's 17-yard run with 11:04 left in the game.

Wham! Momentum turned and game won.

Moorpark improves to 5-1 in conference (7-2 overall) and retains hopes for a division championship. Citrus (4-2, 5-4) falls out of title contention.

"It's who wants it more," says Josh Douglas, the sophomore defensive end from Nordhoff High. "We knew it was going to be this kind of game, and practiced for it all week.

"Whatever the situation, we were going to give up."

The game-turning sequence recalled Moorpark's 28-21 loss to Glendale College in Week 5, when the Raiders had three cracks from the 1-yard line in the waning moments and couldn't score.

Before the defense turned the tide against Citrus, Raiders safety Wiston Juene had a few Glendale flashbacks.

"I was thinking about that," he said. "We missed an extra point that was blocked. We missed some scoring chances. We let them get the lead early on. I was thinking, Oh, no, not again.' "

Trailing 9-7 in the third period, Citrus needed just seven plays to move from its own 40 to a first-and-goal at the Raiders 4. Two runs by leading rusher Marquis Winbush netted just 2 yards. Flanagan, also a standout linebacker, entered the game on third down and bulled to the 1-yard line.

By then, the Raiders knew what was coming. Flanagan has scored Citrus' lone touchdown in the first quarter on a 1-yard plunge.

"They like to give it to the big fullback and hammer it in," said head coach Jim Bittner.

So the Raiders coach set up his defenders to cover every gap, and all but forego pass coverage.

Juene, at 6-3, 205 pounds, was positioned over center to blow up the play.

"I just went over the top to stop anybody coming there," he said. "Everybody hit their gaps. It definitely was a great feeling when we saw he hadn't scored."

The play characterized a hard-nosed defensive slugfest, what with Citrus featuring the WSC's top-ranked defense.

Moorpark's lone touchdown in the first half came on Sam Hollis' 22-yard interception return with 5:06 left in the first period.

Citrus' only score came after a blocked punt that set up a 24-yard touchdown drive early in the first period.

Moorpark's offense reached the Citrus 9- and 12-yard lines on separate possessions, and each time came out pointless. The Raiders trailed at halftime, 7-6.

In the second half, the offense came to life.

Bryan Randolph completed 14 of 24 passes for 178 yards, and no interceptions. Kyley McCrae rushed for 89 yards on 18 carries, and Walker had 67 yards on 19 carries.

The Raiders defense, meanwhile, notched three interceptions and a pair of sacks.

Citrus quarterback John Garcia finished 17 of 32 for 186 yards. Winbush had 87 yards on 23 carries.