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Chargers stay unbeaten,
Westlake on the horizon

The Agoura football team improved to 4-0 when it handily defeated Royal, 42-14, in the Marmonte League opener for both schools last Friday night in Simi Valley.

"Going into the game this week, we definitely didn’t want to have to deal with the disappointment of a loss," said Charger head coach Charlie Wegher. "We’ve had momentum since our first game and we wanted to keep building that and we’re certainly going to need it this week."

This week, Agoura travels to Westlake to face the 4-0 Warriors in a much-anticipated early-Marmonte League showdown between the league’s two hottest teams.

Wegher said it’s been a goal (albeit a sports cliché) to play one game at a time and his players have been successful at doing exactly that––not looking ahead.

MICHAEL COONS/The Acorn GOING DOWN-Sam Hollis of Moorpark tries to tackle Obi Ikemefuna of Calabasas during Friday's game at Moorpark. Moorpark won, 50-7, despite Ikemefuna's productive night (24 carries, 148 yards).

"I was real proud of them last week, they did a terrific job," Wegher said. "Obviously they could have been looking ahead to this week, but I don’t think I heard anybody say the ‘W’ word in practice last week. They stayed focused and were loose and had a great game (against Royal). It was a lot of fun. Everybody got to play."

Team captains were named last week. They’re seniors Braden Lepisto, Bryan Walker, Bob Snyder and Ryan Ptaszenski. "Those guys are doing a great job," said Wegher. "They’re hard workers who set a good tempo at practice and keep people focused, and that’s what we need them to do."

Against Royal everything was firing on all cylinders for the Chargers. "Our starting defense has only allowed one touchdown all season," said Wegher.

Offensively, QB Walker and WR Lepisto connected on TD passes twice, Kyle Heath, a senior RB had two rushing TDs, Joey LaRocque, a senior linebacker, returned an interception 91yards for a TD, and Mark Lawrence, a junior WR caught a Walker pass for another TD.

"We’ve had so many good games with Westlake over the years," said Wegher, "we’d just like to get one to go in our favor. We’ve had some exciting, close games. We just need to finish the job and get things to go our way at the very end."

Lions still unbeaten

and top-ranked

The Oaks Christian football team is 4-0 and ranked No. 1 in its division by the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) as it has been all season. The Lions beat Santa Paula 44-9 in the Tri-Valley League opener for both teams last Friday in Westlake Village.

Lions head coach Bill Redell acknowledged that the team "has got a lot of really fine skill players. And a good offensive and defensive line, too."

The skill players are headlined by junior running back Aaron Ware and freshmen running backs Marc Tyler and Marshall Jones as well as senior quarterback Joey Halzle and freshman QB Jimmy Clausen and wide receivers Joe Giuliani and Mark Richardson.

"Aaron Ware is doing a great job of bringing Marc Tyler and Marshall Jones along," said Redell. "He’s really a good mentor to those two guys, and Aaron’s having a really good year. He’s been a real leader on the team."

Ware ran for 136 yards and two TDs on 14 carries vs. Santa Paula, Tyler ran for 85 yards on 10 carries and Jones has four interceptions in four games on defense.

The offensive line consists of senior tackle Mike Davis, senior guard Greg Cole, senior center Nick Cohen, senior guard Jason Mallory and sophomore tackle Joe Dembesky.

The defensive line is comprised of senior defensive end Peter Padden, senior defensive end John Quinn, senior defensive tackle Mike Abrums, the currently injured junior linebacker Scott Maddux, and freshman defensive end Duke Lemmens.

Redell said his team is strong in experience and speed, and he praised wide receivers Guiliani and Richardson, both juniors.

"The thing about the skill guys, with the exception of (Joey) Halzle, they’re all back," said Redell, noting that the three running backs, the back up QB and the two wide receivers mentioned already are all underclassmen.

"The kids really only look forward to the next game and aren’t so concerned about the No. 1 ranking," said Redell.

"We’re taking it one game at a time."

Undefeated Eagles ranked No. 2 in Div. XI

The Oak Park football team remains the second-ranked team in the Southern Section’s Division XI by the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) right behind No. 1-ranked Oaks Christian, which also competes in the Tri-Valley League.

The Eagles, coached by co-head coaches Dick Billingsley and Brian Crum, improved to 4-0 by beating Rosamond, 48-0, in a game played at Oak Park last Friday night.

Billingsley talked about his team’s defense. "They created four turnovers for us," he said. "And they gave us such good field position that we didn’t really have to sustain a long drive offensively to score."

Billingsley credited his front four defensively. "They’re playing tremendous football," he said of senior defensive tackles Max Hodge and Loren Rosenberg, and senior defensive ends Mike Alexander and Andrew Henggeler.

The Eagles have played well defensively in all four games thus far, said the co-head coach. "We’ve kind of dominated defensively in all four games," said Billingsley.

Billingsley said the Eagles offense "is starting to click and we’re moving the ball, basically, at will. We’re pretty multiple-dimensional. We run different types of options. We have a power game. Our two running backs are real good and we can throw the ball real well, so we’re balanced."

Nolan McNair is the QB, and Anthony Monteleone and Mike Christensen are the premier running backs. All are seniors.

In front of them is "the best offensive line we’ve probably had in 14 years," said Billingsley. It consists of senior Lucas Sayin at center; senior guards Vincent Tedjasaputra and Loren Rosenberg, tackles Hodge and junior Justin Sikich and senior tight end Casey Webb.

Billingsley praised his three captains, Hodge, Monteleone and Christensen. "The captains have done a tremendous job of pulling the team together."

The Eagles face Carpinteria on the road Friday night. "The kids have a lot of maturity about them," Billingsley said about his and Crum’s players. "They know how to get it done."

Ikemefuna a bright

spot despite Coyote loss

The Calabasas football team fell to 0-4 and 0-1 in Marmonte League play when it was defeated by Moorpark, 50-7, in the league opener for both teams last Friday night in Moorpark.

Obi Ikemefuna rushed for 148 yards on 24 carries, including the lone Coyote touchdown, a 39-yard third-quarter run.

"(Ikemefuna) was the one bright spot," said first-year Calabasas head coach Ken Papotta.

Papotta was asked if he thought Ikemefuna could play at the next level, college football.

"Absolutely," said the coach. "If that’s his desire, definitely."

Calabasas starting quarterback Keith Barrett, a senior, was hampered by a groin injury during practice the week leading up to the Moorpark game, but he played and is expected to be okay for the Coyotes’ homecoming game on Friday night in Calabasas.

The Coyote coach said it’s been tough to prepare his troops to stay sharp for a full 48 minutes due to injuries, youth and inexperience.

"We have a lot of kids playing both ways and we have about five sophomores starting," said Papotta. "They’re learning as we go. And we only have about 30 kids that we actually practice with, so playing four quarters starts to wear on them.

"We try to condition them as much as possible during the week," added Papotta.

The coach said his team is looking forward to the homecoming matchup vs. Royal. "They’re always well coached," Papotta said. "They’re a physical team. They’re pretty big. Watching them on film they do a lot of things well. We’ve got to work on the basics and we should be fine."

Papotta said he came into the season—his first—expecting a challenge. "I expected a lot of adversity," he said. "Each week we’ve seen improvements in certain areas. And that’s kind of our motto to our team— ‘better every day.’ Each week the kids see it, they see those sparks of light."

Musketeers get back on track in league opener

The Moorpark football team is now 3-1 overall and 1-0 in league play after convincingly defeating Calabasas, 50-7, on homecoming night at Moorpark last Friday night.

"It’s good to get back on track," said Musketeer head coach Tim Lins, whose team had lost a close battle vs. Hueneme, 22-17, one week earlier.

Greg Dettorre, a senior RB, ran for 124 yards on four carries, including a 99-yard TD run to close out the scoring in the fourth quarter.

Anthony Lopez, a senior RB who didn’t play vs. Hueneme due to an injured hip, was back against Calabasas and carried the ball seven times for 64 yards.

"(Lopez) looked good and it was good to get him back in there, to get back in the flow," said Lins.

Also coming up big for the Musketeers vs. Calabasas was senior Greg Davis, who caught a 63-yard TD pass from senior QB Cody Holland, and senior defensive back Sam Hollis who returned a kickoff 91 yards for another TD.

Daniel Wolverton, a junior who ran for 58 yards on four carries, scored on a 40-yard TD run, Holland had a 3-yard TD run, Lopez had a 20-yard TD run, and JR Jeffrey, a senior, scored on a 46-yard punt return for a TD. On Jeffrey’s TD, senior defensive lineman Jason Breckley made the key block.

Moorpark scored 27 second-quarter points to break open a 7-0 battle and take a 34-0 halftime lead.

Next up for the Musketeers is Newbury Park on the road on Friday night.

Lins assessed the Panthers, who were beaten by Simi Valley, 53-26, last week. "I know that Newbury has the ability to score points," he said. "They have a fine coaching staff."

Moorpark’s season builds to a crescendo upon which Agoura and Westlake (the two hottest Marmonte League teams right now) are the opponents in week nine and 10 respectively. Lins is hoping to keep his players focused on the next game, however.

"We talk to our guys a lot about just trying to make your best effort in the present game and then continue to improve and build on that," said Lins. "If you make your best effort every game, you ought to be successful."