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Beat
Westlake beats
highly ranked
Notre Dame

The Westlake football team coached by Jim Benkert defeated highly ranked Notre Dame, 31-7, last Friday night and will face another highly-ranked team, Hart, again on the road tonight.

"The defense was the story the whole night," Benkert said of the Notre Dame win. The Warriors, now 2-0, gave up 137 yards vs. Notre Dame, and 91 of those came on a TD run early in the second quarter.

So other than that one play, Westlake gave up only 46 total yards. Notre Dame was held to three first downs.

Notre Dame came into the game with a 15-game winning streak and had gone 14-0 last season when it won a California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) championship.

MICHAEL COONS/The Acorn NOT EASY TO BRING DOWN-Anthony Monteleone, right, of Oak Park stiff arms Maynard Breslow of Calabasas during Friday's game at Calabasas. The Eagles won, 48-20, to stay unbeaten at 2-0.

"The whole defensive staff deserves a lot of credit," said Benkert. Mike Leibin is the Warrior defensive coordinator; Bill Culpepper is the linebacker coach; Chris Johnson is defensive backs coach; and Mark Shihabi is the defensive line coach.

"Those guys do a heck of a job putting together defensive packages," said Benkert.

How did this defensive effort stack up against previous ones?

"We’ve had some good defensive games but I think you have to look at the opponent," said Benkert. "Notre Dame is Notre Dame. To do what we did against them, I have to be very excited."

Benkert said preparation paid off vs. Notre Dame.

"They’re a tight-end, two-back, option team," he said. "We don’t see that except for Notre Dame. We spent three weeks getting ready for them and we were ready to play. Our players knew what was coming."

Hart is a totally different animal said the Warrior head coach.

"They’re going to throw the ball and spread the field, no tight end, one back," said Benkert of Hart. "It’s a whole different football game. As good as we were against Notre Dame, we could be in trouble against Hart."

But Notre Dame and Hart—both beat Westlake last year—are still non-league games and the Warriors keep the confrontations in perspective, according to Benkert.

"We didn’t put a lot of emphasis on winning that game," Benkert said of Notre Dame, "and I’m not putting a lot of emphasis on this one. It starts mattering in a week when we play Thousand Oaks. This game (Hart) will help us against Thousand Oaks and Agoura."

Benkert said the Marmonte League is going to be tough this season.

"Anybody can win any given day. I think every week we’re going to have to play."

Oaks Christian

suffers off-field loss

The Oaks Christian football team coached by Bill Redell is 2-0 after a 55-20 win over Village Christian in the Lions home opener in Westlake Village last Friday night. But the win was overshadowed by a car accident that occurred later that night.

Mike Rivas, a junior defensive back with a 4.9 GPA, was seriously injured when another driver, possibly intoxicated, hit the vehicle he was driving to a church camp. Rivas’ left leg had to be amputated below the knee. A passenger in the vehicle, an Agoura High School student, was killed (see story on page 1).

Rivas will have the support of his teammates, classmates and the OCHS administration, said Redell.

"I think the Oaks Christian school, the faculty, the administration, the students, will all rally around the family and Mike, and for that matter, for the girl from Agoura’s family," said Redell.

Redell said the Lions were thankful that Rivas did survive.

"The Good Lord has some other plans for him. He didn’t take him last Friday," said Redell.

On the field, the Lions looked like the No. 1 ranked team that they are.

"The team played very well," said Redell. "We have to improve our pass rush and we have to improve of kickoff team. We had one breakdown there. But overall, the first two games, I think the kids really played well."

OCHS defeated Calvary Chapel of Santa Ana, 42-0, in the opener.

"It’s obvious that we have a lot of experience," said Redell. "We have a lot of players back that were starters last year. But what’s also encouraging is that some of the younger guys, the sophomores and the new freshmen, have played so well too.

"It will take a good team to beat us," Redell added.

The Lions coach described what it’s like being the top-ranked team in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) for its division.

"I think the No. 1 ranking in the small schools and also in Division XI, it makes us realize that everybody is going to be pointing towards us," said Redell.

Last year, the Lions were ranked No. 1 until they lost to Tri-Valley League foe Carpinteria, then ranked No. 2, during the regular season.

"So we know that No. 1 ranking won’t last too long if you get beat," said Redell. "We’re just trying to take it one game at a time."

Aaron Ware, a junior, rushed for 168 yards and two TDs (74 and 48 yards) last week.

Agoura unbeaten

after second

straight victory

The Agoura football team coached by Charlie Wegher easily defeated Camarillo, 49-13, in Camarillo last Friday night, and the win moved the Chargers to 2-0 on the season.

Agoura scored 42 first-half points, 21 in each of the first and second quarters, in the win over the Scorpions.

"We had a good first half and that allowed us to get everybody a chance to play, and that was the important thing," said Wegher. "It’s nice to do that early in the season. Everybody gets excited about practice the next week."

Senior quarterback Bryan Walker was 11 for 11 for 209 yards with three touchdown passes and two TD runs—all coming in the first half.

"He’s way ahead of the (learning) curve," Wegher said of Walker’s early-season progress. "The offensive line is giving him a lot of time and a lot of room, and our receivers are getting open and they’re catching the ball."

Matt Schmidt, a senior, led the Charger receivers with four catches for 83 yards vs. Buena. Mark Lawrence, a junior, caught three for 51 yards, Braden Lepisto, a senior, caught one for a 46-yard TD, and Andy Christopher, a senior, had three receptions for 38 yards and one TD.

"Bryan (Walker) had a really good outing and our offensive line pass-protected well again and we played great defense," said Wegher. "We were confident going in that we could stop them (Camarillo) with our defense and we did. We had a couple of defensive touchdowns."

Bob Snyder, a senior defensive lineman, returned a fumble 85 yards for a touchdown and Schmidt, a free safety, had a 44-yard interception return for a TD. In addition, the kicking game improved in week two, said Wegher.

"We made some positive steps and we’re trying to build momentum, and I think we got that accomplished at least for this week," added Wegher. "Our guys are making it look easy right now. We need to continue to do that."

Chargers’ team chemistry is exceptional, said Wegher.

"The nucleus of this senior class had been together for six years and they played for Clay (assistant coach, Matthews) when he was coaching Pop Warner," said Wegher. "It makes for a nice group. And the parents all know each other too, so it makes for a nice environment."

Agoura faces 0-2 Rio Mesa on the road tonight.

Thousand Oaks falls to 0-2

after tough loss

The Thousand Oaks football team coached by Mike Sanders is 0-2 after the first two weeks of the regular season. But after a 23-20 loss to Buena, the Lancers may be the best winless team around.

After a 20-13 opening-game loss to Crescenta Valley, Sanders noted that turnovers were the difference, and after committing five more vs. Buena, he again said his team is making too many mistakes.

"Eight turnovers in two games and we’ve only lost by (a combined) 10 points," said Sanders, "which speaks volumes, actually, for our defense. That they’ve had to face eight extra possessions."

The Lancer coach said his team needs to be more consistent, all around.

"You can’t point to one unit on the field and say, ‘They’re not playing well,’ because at times we have flashes of brilliance, and other times we look like we don’t know what the heck we’re doing," said Sanders. "And it’s not one guy every time, it’s a different guy every time.

"We just need to get consistent and eliminate mental mistakes, and I think we’re going to be a good football team," added Sanders.

Jack Boger, a junior running back who ran for 211 yards in game one and 102 yards vs. Buena, has been a bright spot. And the guys blocking for Boger have also excelled at times, said the coach.

"From what I understand, since Jack Boger’s been a really young kid playing Pop Warner football, he’s been a guy that shows up on game day and does a great job, and he continues to do that," said Sanders. "And his pass protection has been tremendous."

Sanders added, "Our offensive line, at times, blocks really well. They give him (Boger) chances to get those big 10, 11-yard runs, and he has a knack for finding the hole."

At quarterback, senior Chris Owens has had some bad luck. Owens threw four interceptions against Buena, but Sanders said two were because of poor pass protection in which Owens got hit just as he threw the ball, and another deflected off a receiver’s hands. One pass was under thrown.

Owens completed 19 of 34 passes for 232 yards and one touchdown vs. Buena.

"At times, we just drop back, perfect protection, throw and catch, everything looks good," Sanders said. "We just haven’t put a whole game together."

Matt Luft, a 6-foot-4 sophomore wide receiver, caught one of Owens’ passes for a 29-yard TD vs. Buena, and Luft finished with seven receptions for 78 yards.

The Lancers hope to get their first win on the road vs. Camarillo, tonight.

Sanders is optimistic. "Our kids are doing it right more times than they’re doing it wrong," he said.