Lions beat Eagles for title

Championship game came down to the wire
Acorn Sports Writer

MICHAEL COONS/The Acorn GETTING CLOSE-Oaks Christian football players cheer after a play in the third quarter during Saturday night's Division XI championship game against the Oak Park Eagles at Royal High School.

With a third down and three, and 1:39 left in the fourth quarter, you’d figure Oaks Christian, which had a five-point lead, would go to the run. After all, that’s primarily what got the Lions to the championship game.

But the play that iced the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section Division XI championship, which Oaks Christian won, 21-16, over rival Oak Park in last Saturday’s final game at Royal High School in Simi Valley, was a pass.

Oak Park (12-2) had two timeouts left, so an incomplete pass by Oaks Christian would have given the Eagles the ball back, in good field position, with more than a minute and a half left in the game.

But freshman quarterback Jimmy Clausen hit senior running back Joe Giuliani along the left sideline, gaining 26 yards and a first down, and forcing Oak Park to utilize its final timeouts while the Lions still had the ball.

"The key play of the game was Joe Giuliani’s catch," said Lions’ head coach Bill Redell. "And he’s the guy that called the play."

Oaks Christian, which also finishes at 12-2, had taken a timeout of its own with 1:39 left and Giuliani recounted what happened.

"We were going to run a running play, but they (Oak Park) only had two guys outside, and I told coach, ‘If we put me in the slot and run a seam, they’re not going to be able to guard me because of the coverage that they were in,’" said Giuliani.

Redell took a brief second to consider it and then opted to trust Giuliani’s instincts.

"He (Redell) stood there for a second, then he said, ‘Let’s go with it,’ so he trusted me and it worked out," said Guiliani. "Coach Redell and Coach Bates, they trusted me and it worked."

Mark Bates is the Oaks Christian offensive coordinator.

Oak Park led 10-7 on a field goal of 36 yards by senior quarterback/kicker Nolan McNair to end the first half, but Oaks Christian capitalized on an Oak Park fumble early in the third quarter and scored on a 1-yard run by sophomore running back Matt Allen.

Then the Lions built the lead to 21-10 on a 6-yard TD run by freshman running back Marc Tyler with 8:46 remaining in the third quarter.

Oak Park drove 96 yards on 10 plays to score on a 2-yard run by senior running back Mike Christensen with 6:05 remaining in the game. A two-point conversion failed and Oak Park was behind, 21-16.

The Eagles were driving for the potential go-ahead score with about three minutes left on their next possession, but a fumble deep in Lions territory turned the ball over to Oaks Christian.

In the first half, senior cornerback Greg Curtis had returned an interception 51 yards for a touchdown to help Oak Park gain a 7-0 lead, but Oaks Christian fought back and scored on a 2-yard run by Tyler early in the second quarter and the score was 7-7 until McNair’s field goal.

The Lions have only been playing varsity football for three years. Last year and in 2001—the first year as a varsity—Oaks Christian lost in the CIF semifinals.

"We were in the semifinals twice, then we got to the finals and won it," said Redell. "For a brand-new school, only three years old, that’s pretty darn good."

Redell said his team built upon a foundation set by last year’s graduates. "I think the tradition was established last year by the seniors and these guys picked it up," said Redell. "Their goal was to win a CIF championship. I told them there would be some detours along the way—roadblocks—and we’d have to overcome some adversity."

The Lions lost their last two regular season games against Nordhoff and Oak Park, but beat both teams—Nordhoff in the CIF semifinals—in the last two games of the playoffs.

"This is the greatest ending to my freshmen year," said Clausen. "We knew that if we came out and we played our game, we’d have a shot, and tonight we played our game and we got our shot."

Aaron Ware, a junior running back who’s led the Lions in rushing three straight seasons, was elated.

"I’ve never experienced this much happiness in my whole life, it’s a beautiful thing," said Ware, who noted that the Lions had learned valuable lessons from the two losses. "We learned we’re not impermeable and we’re not absolutely unstoppable," Ware said. "And that we need to play with heart and as a team."

Peter Padden, a senior lineman on both sides of the ball, said last year’s seniors provided leadership and this year’s seniors hoped to do the same for a talented freshmen class.

"The freshmen are a great group of guys," Padden said. "It was fun playing with them, they made it worthwhile."

Regarding whether the seniors are leaving a legacy, Padden said. "I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I really do believe that we started things off well, us and the guys who left last year. They were our example."

Tyler knew the Lions were talented upon arriving at the school in Westlake Village.

"I kind of knew that we had a chance when I came here because we have a lot of talent," said Tyler. "And we have good coaches. We just all came together, we worked hard all year and I knew we were going to do it. And we’ll be back here next year."