The Acorn's High School Football Game of the Week

THE SEASON HAS ARRIVED-Charger wide receiver Pascal Combs catches a pass and heads downfield during a recent practice session. AHS plays Ventura tomorrow night on the road. Agoura head coach Charlie Wegher is ready to go. So, too, is senior quarterback Jordan Arias.

Following months of practice sessions, two-a-days and passing camps, AHS finally gets to take the field for real Friday night when they travel to Larrabee Stadium in Ventura to play the Ventura Cougars.

"I'm very eager to play somebody that's not Agoura," Wegher said. "We've been going at it all the way through training camp and Hell Week. I'm anxious to play a good, solid football team.

"And that's the thing about Ventura, I know they're going to be well-prepared and physical," the coach said. "Those are the things we need to see to get ready for the Marmonte League."

The Chargers are coming off a 7-4 campaign in 2005, a season in which they finished tied for fourth place in league and advanced to the CIF-SS Division IV playoffs before losing to Camarillo.

Ventura went 11-2 overall last season. The Cougars won a pair of postseason games before being bounced in the semifinals by Moorpark.

Entering the year, both teams have major holes to fill at vital offensive positions- quarterback and wide receiver.

Gone for Agoura are signalcaller Dominic Huerta and wideout/place kicker J.T. Wright. Huerta threw for 2,982 yards and 21 touchdowns in '05, while Wright was the team's leading receiver, hauling in 72 catches for 1,254 yards and 10 scores. Wright also converted 8-of-12 field goal attempts for the Chargers.

Ventura graduated quarterback Lee Mondol, a 3,172-yards passer, and wide receiver Robby Leith, who racked up 1,503 yards and 20 touchdowns through the air.

Replacing Huerta is Arias. Although he made a pair of starts last year while Huerta was injured, Arias' playing time behind center was limited as a junior. Friday's game will be Arias' first as the team's full-time starter, and he admits he's a bit anxious to get things off to a good start.

"I'm really excited, and kind of nervous," Arias said. "But we'll come out ready to play."

With the game scheduled to be broadcast locally on Time Warner Cable, Arias said his teammates will be pumped up.

"Coach told us a few weeks ago, so we knew we needed to be prepared," he said. "Being on TV makes it even more exciting."

According to Wegher, both coaching staffs have already exchanged scrimmage tapes. While the tapes are often chalk full of basic offensive and defensive formations, swapping information can be beneficial to both teams, he said.

"For us, it's about getting ready to play the season," Wegher said. "Exchanging tape allows us to get into our rhythm of what we want to do, and it allows them to get into a rhythm of what they do. That's why I like it, and they understand that.

"It's not so much trying to win the game as it is getting ready for the games that count," he said.

The last time Agoura and Ventura faced off was during the 2004 CIF-SS semifinals, a contest won by the Cougars, 10-9.

Wegher said he'd like to see the series continue for many more seasons.

"I think both coaches want to keep this as our first game for the foreseeable future."