The Acorn's High School Football Game of the Week
Oaks Christian Lions (2-0) vs. St. Bonaventure Seraphs (3-0) Friday, 7:30 p.m.
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers TOUGH TASK- Quarterback Chris Potter and the Oaks Christian Lions will look to exploit St. Bonaventure's secondary.

With a 48-game winning streak on the line, Oaks Christian will get its first true test of the season when it plays St. Bonaventure tomorrow night at Larrabee Stadium in Ventura.

Although OCHS is ranked No. 13 in the state by CalHiSports.com, St. Bonaventure is ranked No. 2 by the same website, and many believe they are the team that will finally end the Lions' winning streak.

Any of this sound familiar?

Last season the two teams met up in The Acorn's High School Game of the Year, with the Lions putting an end to the Seraphs' 27-game winning streak by easily coasting to a 59-13 win. The game was never close as the Lions led 387 at halftime thanks to running back Marc Tyler rushing 18 times for 271 yards and five touchdowns.

Oaks Christian may have dominated last year's game; however, many of the top players on the Lions' roster from that contest have graduated. Meanwhile, the Seraphs have added one of the best running backs in the nation, Darrell Scott, a transfer from Moorpark High.

Last week Scott torched Canyon High for 297 yards and four touchdowns in St. Bonaventure's 28-17 win. If the Lions want to keep their winning streak intact, they'll have to stop Scott from running wild, which might not be possible.

"I don't think you can stop him," Oaks Christian head coach Bill Redell said of Scott. "He's going to get his yards no matter what.

"That being said, if he rushes for another 300 yards against us, we're going to be in big trouble. We are looking to keep him around 150 yards, but if he rushes for 300 yards and we win, then I'll be happy."

Although St. Bonaventure has Scott, who's ranked as the seventh-best player in the class of 2008 by ESPN, Redell believes the Lions have a great back themselves in Malcolm Jones.

So far Jones has filled in for Tyler quite well by rushing for 284 yards on 27 carries for an average of 142 yards per game.

"We scrimmaged against Scott when he was a sophomore, and I believe Malcolm is just as good of a back in his sophomore year as Darrell was his sophomore year," Redell said. "Scott may be a little bigger now, but Malcolm has two years to grow."

Another way the Lions have hurt opponents this year has been in the passing game. Chris Potter has moved from wide receiver to quarterback and has thrown for 206 yards in his first two games.

St. Bonaventure's quarterback is Tony Macarena, who has completed 35-of-50 passes for 524 yards and four touchdowns. Macarena's top target has been Blayne Lewis, who's caught two touchdowns on his way to 158 receiving yards.

Even though this game is once again being hyped as one of the season's best, Redell believes the outcome won't hurt either ballclub.

"Both teams playing are great, and we're going to have a good season regardless if we win the game or not," Redell said. "Obviously we want to win the game because that has some effect in the state rankings, but it's still not a league game, and our ultimate goal is to make CIF."