Warriors finish perfect

MICHAEL COONS/The Acorn PERFECT SEASON-Westlake High School football players cheer their 28-6 victory over St. Bonaventure for the Southern Section Division IV championship at Moorpark College on Friday night.

It was an unforgettable season. The ending made it all the more memorable.

The Westlake football team defeated St. Bonaventure, 28-6, in a California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section Division IV championship game, last Friday night before an overflow crowd of about 8,000 at Moorpark College.

The Warriors finished their season undefeated—14-0—for the first time in school history, and in the process, they erased the sting that lingered after last year’s 40-14 loss vs. St. Bonaventure in a game played one year earlier on the same field for the 2002 championship.

"I don’t care who we played tonight, we were not going to be denied this title," said Westlake head coach Jim Benkert, who led his team to its second CIF title, having won it previously in 1999. "Last year’s disappointment was so great and was on the minds of our players."

St. Bonaventure had won four CIF championships in a row, had won 25 games consecutively and had won 68 of its last 69 games.

None of that fazed the Warriors.

"Last year they just manhandled us," said senior tight end/defensive end Jimmy Miller, who caught a 49-yard touchdown pass to boost a one-point lead to 14-6 in the second quarter. "This year, we did a little bit of the same to them."

Michael Stuart, who’ll be heading to USC along with Miller next year, said he and his teammates had to be patient awaiting the return matchup with St. Bonaventure.

"We’ve wanted this game since Day One, when we lost to them last year," said Stuart, who caught a 9-yard touchdown pass to erase a 3-0 deficit and put Westlake ahead for good, 7-3. "We had to wait all this time, take it one game at a time. But it finally got here."

Senior tackle Steve Gatena said St. Bonaventure was formidable, but that the Warriors were ready.

"They’re fast and they’re big and they’re strong," Gatena said of St. Bonaventure. "But I felt we were just playing harder, playing stronger. Our defense worked so hard all week long to prepare and they just gathered together and came through."

Both Miller and Stuart had two sacks.

Offensively, the Warrior line got the job done, allowing senior quarterback Rudy Carpenter to complete 16 of 22 passes for 224 yards and two TDs, senior running back Tahj Mowry to run the ball 21 times for 90 yards and senior wide receiver Marcus Maddocks to get seven receptions for 70 yards.

Miller had two receptions for 72 yards and Stuart had four for 50 yards.

The Warrior offensive line consisted of senior tackles Gatena and Ryan Sorensen, guards Jeff Wurts, a senior, and Jose Martinez, a junior, and junior center David Romano.

"I believed in my linemen," Mowry said. "They blocked from their heart and opened up holes, and I ran behind them. Everybody just played from their hearts and that’s why we came out with a victory."

Carpenter never doubted himself after leaving Newbury Park High School last year.

"I’m glad because this is a great bunch of guys," Carpenter said regarding his teammates. "We’re all friends. We’re all together. It’s an unbelievable feeling."

Westlake quarterback coach Darryl Smith was also confident in Carpenter from the beginning. "I knew he had to learn our systemm but once he did that and learned to believe in what he had, it was just a matter of doing what he does so well," said Smith. "This does not come as a surprise to me at all. I knew what he could do."

Westlake played the championship game without standout running back Jeff Rapoport, a sophomore, who had surgery the day after the game on a knee that was injured one week before in the semifinal win against Moorpark.

"It was very tough not to play," Rapoport said. "But I had faith in my teammates. I knew they could get it done. It’s extremely nice to be part of this team. To reach our ultimate goal is unbelievable."

Mike Leibin, the Westlake defensive coordinator, praised the Warrior defense for keeping St. Bonaventure out of the end zone and limiting the Seraphs to two field goals.

"They made my job real easy," Leibin said of the Warrior defense. "Those guys just made plays all night. They’ve worked hard for it. They’ve wanted it. They came out here and they got it done."

The Westlake starting defense, along with ends Stuart and Miller and cornerback Maddocks, consisted of senior linebackers Greg Newman and Matt Hileman, outside linebackers Jason Wick, a senior, and Jason Berg, a junior, senior defensive tackle David Winer, sophomore nose guard Jeff Miller, senior cornerback Brett Westernoff and senior free safety Ryan Ruel.

"They took it upon themselves to make plays," Benkert said of his players on both offense and defense. "All week leading up to this game, our guys were focused on the field at practice, they listened to the game plan, and they came out here and executed.

"It just doesn’t get any better than that."