Oak Park defeats Calabasas to stay unbeaten

MICHAEL COONS/The Acorn ON DEFENSE--Dylan Conrad, right, of Calabasas prevents Gavin Ketchum of Oak Park from making the catch during Friday's game at Calabasas. The Eagles (2-0) scored 21 points in the third quarter.

The Oak Park football team broke open a tight game against neighboring Calabasas, scoring 21 third-quarter points en route to a 48-20 victory that kept the Eagles undefeated at 2-0 and dropped the Coyotes to 0-2.

In a game played in Calabasas, Oak Park’s lead was only 20-14 at halftime, but the Eagles three TDs in the third quarter increased the lead to 41-14 and put the game away.

"The key to the game, I think, was the third quarter," said Oak Park co-head coach Dick Billingsley. "We took the ball and scored, they had three and out, we scored, three and out, we scored, three and out. We made some nice halftime adjustments on both sides of the ball and our kids just took over the game."

Nolan McNair, a senior, quarterbacked an option offense that amassed 384 yards rushing.

"We came out in the second half fired up," said McNair, who credited the Oak Park offensive line with opening up big holes. "Our line really brought it together as a unit and opened up huge running holes for me, Mikey (Christensen), Anthony (Monteleone) and our fullbacks."

McNair ran for 97 yards on 14 carries. Monteleone, a senior, had 92 yards on eight carries. Ryan Edwardsen, a senior, had 63 yards on six carries. Josh Moskowitz, a junior, had 55 yards on 10 carries. And Christensen, a senior, ran for 53 on seven carries.

"The offensive line and the defensive line, they’re setting the tone," said Monteleone. "If it weren’t for those big guys, we wouldn’t be able to run or pass. If they didn’t work hard in practice, we wouldn’t be out here doing our job."

Christensen also praised the offensive line.

"The line is awesome. They work really hard in practice and they open holes the size of a truck, and all you have to do is just get the ball and go," said Christensen. "I have to give all the credit to them."

Billingsley said his players traditionally come out too pumped up to play Calabasas and that was the case again Friday night.

"Whenever we come over here, we don’t play a good first quarter," Billingsley said. "And tradition held true. It’s a real friendly rivalry, but I think our kids want to be so excited about the game that sometimes they get too emotional and they make costly mistakes."

Despite the loss, Calabasas head coach Ken Papotta said his team improved greatly after being shut out in its first game vs. El Camino Real.

"We made huge strides from last week," said Papotta. "We have about six sophomores starting on defense and they’ll get better each week. Tonight, several times we didn’t tackle our assignment, and that kind of got us in some trouble. But overall, I was pleased with the kids. They bounced back, they kept fighting."

Papotta said his team had a good week of practice leading up to the Oak Park showdown.

"This week the spirits were up, the kids were excited," said Papotta. "We preached confidence all week and it was there."

Calabasas senior quarterback Keith Barrett and senior running back Obi Ikemefuna were both optimistic after the Oak Park loss.

"We didn’t put any points on the board last week, so tonight when we did, it was a really great feeling," said Barrett. "I’m happy with my team. We’re going to get better as we go along."

Barrett was 10 of 22 passing for 106 yards, with no interceptions and two TD passes.

"We’ve got a lot of young guys," said Ikemefuna, who rushed for 54 yards on 18 carries, including a 2-yard second quarter TD run. "The only thing we’re lacking is experience. The confidence is growing—it’s going to be there. We’ve still got our heads up."

Papotta said Oak Park executed their game plan and Billingsley agreed.

"Their quarterback (McNair) did a great job reading," said Papotta. "They’re always great at the option and that’s how they beat us."

Billingsley added, "We have so many different types of options. That’s why we call it ‘triple option.’ We can do three different things, so no matter what they try to take away, we’re able to attack it another way."