Eagles win football opener in a shutout

MICHAEL COONS/The Acorn COMPLETION-Gavin Ketchum of Oak Park catches a pass during Friday's nonleague game with Kern Valley at Oak Park. The Eagles won their opener, 28-0. They play Calabasas on Friday.

It was a long ride home for the Kern Valley Broncs last Friday night after being defeated by the Oak Park Eagles, 28-0, before of a crowd of more than 400.

In his debut as starting quarterback, Peter Burns performed phenomenally, scoring two touchdowns in the first half of the game, passing 93 yards for the first touchdown and completing 10 of 16 passes for a total of 257 yards in the game.

Wide receivers Gavin Ketchum and Mike Wildt complemented Burns’ passing game. Wildt made four catches for 103 yards and Ketchum had three for 75.

Not to be upstaged was Nolan McNair, punter, kicker and part-time quarterback for Oak Park. McNair put in some playing time as quarterback, also making three of the extra points, despite missing a field goal. He completed two of four passes for 48 yards.

The Eagles’ defense didn’t have any trouble in frustrating the 18-player Kern Valley team, limiting their passing game to a lateral, good for three yards in the first quarter.

By halftime the Eagles were up 21-0, despite fumbling the ball and having numerous penalties, which Brian Crum, co-head coach and defensive coordinator, described as "first-game jitters."

Before the start of the season, co-head coach Dick Billingsley described Oak Park as a "60 percent rushing and 40 percent passing team." But the Eagles didn’t pass up the opportunity to prove him a liar; at the half, they had passed for more than 200 yards but zero yards in the rushing attack.

"Our passing game is good, but our running game is going bananas," said Billingsley at halftime, ending with his trademark phrase, "Hubba, hubba."

The Eagles’ rushing game improved during the second half of the game, though.

Michael Christensen led the pack with a total of 74 rushing yards, followed by Daniel Martinez with 27.

Not only did the ground attack improve during the second half, but there were no more fumbles and fewer penalties.

In the fourth quarter, as the time expired with the score at 28-0, the Oak Park team rushed to the center of the field, followed by family, friends and fans.

Burns was quick to share the spotlight with others as he credited his offensive line. Nearby, a starry-eyed young girl could be heard to say, "He plays good and he’s cute."

Crum’s assessment was more traditional.

"I think the game went really well," he said. "We played a good defense and had good execution."

The team’s next game will be Friday against regional rival Calabasas.

The Oak Park coaches and players agreed as they looked ahead to take the season "one game at a time."