MOORPARK - All season long, the Arroyo Grande High School football team has relied upon a punishing running attack, a solid defense and an ability to avoid costly turnovers.

That formula produced an 8-2 regular-season mark and a convincing win over Santa Monica in the first round of the CIF Division IV playoffs last Friday.

In Friday night's season-ending 26-0 second-round loss to host Moorpark, none of those three elements were present for the Eagles.

Arroyo Grande was held to just 155 rushing yards; allowed the Musketeers to rack up 417 yards of total offense; and, perhaps most damaging of all, turned the ball over three times, with the miscues resulting in 20 Moorpark points.

After the game, an Arroyo Grande squad that had become very close over the last few weeks was obviously emotionally shaken.

“In your senior year, you want to go all the way,” said zipback/cornerback James Valez, fighting back tears. “It's a dagger in your heart when you don't make the big show.”

The Eagles won't go any further in these playoffs because of some untimely errors.

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After Matt Lynch was picked off by Ryne Intlekofer midway through the second quarter with the Eagles down 3-0, Musketeers quarterback Adam Barry connected with Josh Smith for a 48-yard touchdown reception to give Moorpark a 10-0 lead.

Kicker David Prickett gave Moorpark a 13-0 lead with a 25-yard field goal with 8:16 left in the third quarter, and on the Eagles' ensuing possession, Lynch was picked off again by Intlekofer on a similar play call - a deep post to wideout DeAngelo Waller.

On the Musketeers' first play after the turnover, Barry found Nick Karam for a 50-yard touchdown pass to give Moorpark a 20-0 lead, and any hopes of an Arroyo Grande comeback were effectively dashed right then and there.

After the Eagles fumbled away a punt return at the start of the fourth quarter, Barry hooked up with Prickett for a 31-yard touchdown pass to complete the scoring.

“We were in bad field position all night, and we gave them extra possessions,” said Eagles head coach Jon Huss. “That's something you cannot do against a great team. We made mistakes in critical situations, short-yardage situations when we had the chance to do something.

“I thought down 13-0, we still had an opportunity, but we gave them another possession with the interception. They were able to control the ball, and our defense started to wear down.”

Arroyo Grande's run-based, ball-control offense isn't great for come-from-behind situations, and the Musketeers did a masterful job of stuffing a previously potent Eagles running game by constantly putting eight men in the box with an extra rover on the perimeter to snuff out Valez on sweeps.

The Eagles' leading rusher on the season had just 19 yards on eight carries.

“Ron Wilford, our defensive coordinator, deserves the credit (for shutting down Arroyo Grande's running game,” said Moorpark head coach Tim Lins. “Our kids have done a great job on defense all year long. We had a real good game plan coming in, but I wasn't expecting to beat them (26-0). They're a quality, physical football team. We just happened to make a couple big plays early.”

Musketeers sophomore running back Darrell Scott was outstanding, rushing for 137 yards on 25 carries, and Barry completed 11 of 15 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns, which all came on deep bombs that were clearly intended to take advantage of an overmatched Eagles secondary.

“(Barry) put good velocity on the football, but we were close each time to making some plays,” Huss said. “We just weren't good enough, and fatigue was a big part of that (because the defense) was on the field so much.”

Division X

Lompoc 35, Temple City 7

TEMPLE CITY - Jumping out to a 21-0 lead before the half, the Braves used steady ball control and powerful running to eliminate the Rams in the second round of the Division X playoffs.

Senior running back Joseph Scott carried the ball 19 times for 105 yards and two touchdowns.

After building a comfortable 21-7 lead at the half, Lompoc (9-3) proceeded to hold the ball for 16 of the final 22 minutes of the second half.

“We thought it was going to be a closer game,” said starting quarterback Tim Ochoa, who was 7-for-11 for two touchdowns and 92 yards passing.

Cabrillo 28, La Cañada 12

LA CANADA - Cabrillo High School football team exacted revenge for last year's first-round playoff loss at the hands of La Canada, defeating the Spartans in the second round.

Conquistadores running back Vai Taua rushed for 98 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown. Taua also had a 69-yard toucdown reception in the first quarter, good for a 7-0 lead.

Quarterback C.J. Simmons passed for 111 yards and 1 touchdown and also scored a touchdown on a 71-yard run to extend Cabrillo's lead in the fourth quarter.

Andrew Campa and Gabriel Rizk of the San Gabriel Valley Tribune contributed to this reportt.

Nov. 26, 2005