Agoura beats Buena, 26-21, at home as Lepisto and Walker lead the way

MICHAEL COONS/The Acorn NICE CATCH--Brandon Lepisto of Agoura catches a pass on the 2-yard line during last Friday night's game against Buena of Ventura. Agoura took a lead, gave it up, but came back to win, 26-21.

The Agoura Chargers football team won its season opener vs. Buena, 26-21, in a game played at home in Agoura last Friday night as senior quarterback Bryan Walker passed for 391 yards and senior wide receiver Braden Lepisto caught 14 passes for 228 yards and the game-winning touchdown.

Agoura led 20-7 at halftime, but Buena battled back and took a one-point lead, 21-20, with 7:29 remaining in the fourth quarter.

But Walker quickly connected with Lepisto, who made a riveting catch, snatching the ball at the height of his leap, gathering it, and then breaking away for a 75-yard touchdown.

Agoura head coach Charlie Wegher was pleased with his team’s effort.

"The thing I’m most impressed with, we made mistakes but we rallied and overcame those things, and hung in there and made the big, big plays when it mattered," said Wegher. "That catch by Lepisto, I’ll put that one in the safe."

Walker, Lepisto and the entire Charger receiving corps worked hard last spring and this summer.

"We’ve been working out all spring, all summer," Walker said, "all four of the wide receivers, and it just kind of came together tonight. We always hope for the best, and it came out pretty good tonight."

Lepisto said that he and his quarterback had two reasons to want to start the season off strongly—the obvious one, to lead Agoura to victory, the other, to attract attention from Division I colleges.

"This was huge for me," Lepisto said. "I’ve got to make a big impact to get to those colleges I want to get to. And sending out this first game film is big for me. Bryan (Walker) and I worked out all summer. We knew this had to be a big year for both of us, because he wants to play in college as well.

"I was surprised that we did so well and I think we’ll still get better," Lepisto added.

Most important was getting the "W," said Lepisto, who plays cornerback defensively, is the place kicker, and returns kicks.

"The main goal is winning the championship and our defense and our receiving games are what’s going to get us there," said Lepisto.

Against Buena, Walker completed 28 of 40 passes. Matt Schmidt, a senior, caught five aerials for 80 yards. Andy Christopher, a senior, caught four for 32 yards. Mark Lawrence, a junior, had two receptions for 32 yards, and Kyle Heath, a senior running back, also had two catches for 11 yards.

Heath scored the Chargers first touchdown on a 1-yard run, Walker ran one yard for Agoura’s second TD, and Christopher caught a 4-yard pass from Walker for the third TD.

Everyone had praise for the offensive line.

"I don’t think Bryan (Walker) got touched when he was throwing the ball," said Wegher. "Our offensive line, Bob Snyder, Patrick Novak, John Bailey, John Terndrup and Andy Bradley—they gave him all the time in the world to throw. They need to get credit because they really got it done."

Walker agreed with his head coach, adding that his receivers stepped up.

"That’s all because of the offensive line today. I don’t think I got touched once the entire night. I can’t do it with out them," said Walker. "Everyone across the board on the offensive line played a great game and our receivers made great catches all night long."

Lepisto also had praise for the line and receivers.

"Our line, they never played so well, our defense played really well, and our offense came back," said Lepisto. "Our junior receiver, Mark Lawrence, he played great in his first varsity game. Matt Schmidt—his first game ever playing receiver—he played well. And Andy Christopher also played well."

Agoura plays at Camarillo tomorrow night, at Rio Mesa next Thurs., Sept. 25, and at Royal in the Marmonte League opener on Fri., Oct. 3. Then in week two of the league season, Oct. 10, the Chargers face Westlake.

"There are no doormats in our league this year, everyone is at the top," said Walker. "Everyone is going to be great. There’s not going to be one off-week."

Said Lepisto, "We’ve just got to take it one game at a time. We are going to be looking out for that Westlake game because I think that will be the one—right in the middle of the season—to propel us through the season."

Wegher added, "We’re just taking them one at a time—build our momentum, build our confidence—and get into league running."