The Acorn's High School Football Game of the Week

FREE RIDE-Westlake defender Matt Kennedy, right, tries to bring down Agoura wideout Parsa Moshiri during last Friday's 26-23 double overtime Warrior victory at AHS. It's gut-check time in the Marmonte League.

At 5-0 in league, Westlake and Moorpark are both in the playoffs, and if each team wins this weekend, they will play for the league championship next Friday at Moorpark High.

That eliminates two of the league's four postseason bids.

Thousand Oaks sits alone in third place. Having defeated Simi Valley on the road in Week 8, the Lancers are now 3-2 in Marmonte play.

Royal, Agoura and Newbury Park are all 2-3 in the Marmonte.

Newbury Park hosts Royal Friday night in what could serve as an elimination game. Already this season, Royal beat Agoura and Agoura defeated Newbury Park.

For all intents and purposes, Simi Valley and Calabasas are long shots for the postseason.

Middle of the pack in league wasn't what head coach Mike Sanders' team was shooting for at the beginning of the season, but with his squad losing to Moorpark and Westlake during the past month, Sanders knows a third-place finish wouldn't be so bad for Thousand Oaks.

"We're talking about winning out. That's our goal," Sanders said. "We want to win every game, take it as it comes, get into the playoffs and keep going."

This week the Lancers face an Agoura squad that's coming off a stunning doubleovertime defeat at home against Westlake.

Following his team's 26-23 loss to the Warriors, AHS quarterback Doug Shumway said the Chargers' season wasn't over.

"We've got to beat T.O. and we've got to beat Calabasas," said Shumway, who's thrown for 1,266 yards and 10 touchdowns while completing 61 percent of his passes this season.

"We've got to go into the playoffs rolling, really playing well, and go as far as we possibly can."

Losers of three straight since a 5-0 start, the Chargers are on the brink of playoff elimination. Sanders said he expects Agoura to come out with a big effort in front of its home crowd.

"Their backs are against the wall, kind of like a wounded animal," Sanders said. "They have a great coaching staff that does a great job.

"I expect them to come in and play hard, to play like a team who absolutely needs to win. I expect a great football game. I don't expect any kind of a letdown. I expect to get one of their best games of the year," Sanders said.

The problem for Thousand Oaks has been consistency. TOHS hasn't won back-to-back games since late September.

Behind sophomore John Lister and senior Taylor Malm, the Lancer running game has averaged 165 rushing yards per contest.

The passing game, thought to be a strength in the preseason, has struggled at times. Quarterback Ryan Cloney, who's been slowed with a knee injury, an ailment he says is "95 percent" healed, said the Lancer offense is improving.

"All the pieces are starting to come together," Cloney said.

Thousand Oaks safety Scott Luft knows Agoura has had T.O.'s number lately-AHS has beaten the Lancers the last three years- and he anticipates another tightly contested battle on Friday night.

"We always expect it to be a good game when we play Agoura," Luft said. "With the history we have between us, both sides should come in fired up."