The Acorn's High School Football Game of the Week
Simi Valley Pioneers (3-2) at Calabasas Coyotes (1-4) Friday, 7 p.m.
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers WELCOME BACK- Following four consecutive road games, QB Serop Chalian, above, and Calabasas return home Friday night.

After four long years, Calabasas High football fans finally have a reason to celebrate.

Three weeks ago, CHS ended a 44-game losing streak when it beat Channel Islands High 2814 on the road. Tomorrow night the Coyotes will play in front of their home fans for the first time since the win when they host Simi Valley at 7 p.m.

"Everyone in the student body and the administration at Calabasas has treated us great since the win- and before it," Calabasas head coach Lance Martin said. "It will be nice to play in front of our home fans this week after the way they've treated us."

Martin said that his team has regained confidence since the win in Week 3 and are playing with a new enthusiasm.

"I think it was a great boost for us," Martin said. "The team now believes that when they go out on the field, they can compete and win because now they've done it before. The team has a little more fight in it now, and they believe more in themselves."

One of the stars for Calabasas has been senior Justin Cudworth. Prior to a loss against Thousand Oaks last week, Cudworth led the team in tackles, rushing yards and receiving yards.

Although the Coyotes ended their losing streak, the team still has a long way to go. In the two games since the victory, CHS has been outscored 95-32. Calabasas will have the advantage of having a home crowd on its side, but its disadvantage will be that it will be playing against a Simi Valley team hungry to get back on track after a loss last week to Agoura.

Against the Chargers, Simi Valley had a tough time running the ball against a bigger defensive line and lost 31-21.

SVHS senior running back Langston Jackson wasn't his usual self; he gained only 53 yards on 14 carries for the Pioneers. Prior to the game against Agoura, Jackson was averaging 4.7 yards per rush and had six touchdowns.

If SVHS wants to avoid another loss, the Pioneers will have to find a way to get their star running back the ball more.

"Their offensive and defensive lines did a great job against us, and you have to give credit to Agoura for that," Simi Valley head coach Todd Borowski said.

"We have to figure out this week what we have to do better, but we do need to be more physical on the line. As far as getting our team ready to play this week, that won't be hard. Showing them game film from tonight (Agoura) should be more than enough."

Although Martin admitted stopping Jackson would be one of the keys to winning for Calabasas, the first-year coach was quick to add that Jackson is not the Pioneers' only weapon.

"They have a very good team over there at Simi," Martin said. "They are very well balanced on offense and they have a very sound defense.

"When (Simi) made its comeback run in the second half against Agoura, it was a total team effort. In order for us to win this week, we are going to have to play a perfect game against them. We can't have any mistakes. We can't have any penalties."