Billingsley's last stand

Dick Billingsley

Oak Park High head football coach Dick Billingsley is learning to say goodbye.

Last year, Billingsley bid adieu to the majority of the Eagles' starting lineup, as star players such as Sean Westgate and Kyle Shorten graduated.

At the conclusion of this season, Billingsley will say goodbye to the rest of the OPHS football program. The coach said he has recently decided to step down after guiding the squad for 18 years.

During Billingsley's tenure at OPHS, the Eagles have made the playoffs 14 times and won four Tri-Valley League titles.

"I was going to stop coaching after last season, but eventually the rest of the coaching staff talked me back into coaching one more year," Billingsley said.

"Another factor is that I want to give (the staff) enough time to look for a replacement."

Billingsley said only a few people knew about his decision, but he's hoping he won't be talked out of it this time.

"I guess the best thing I can do is tell someone like (The Acorn) so I have to follow through with it," Billingsley said with a laugh.

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers RUN TO DAYLIGHT—Oak Park High tailback Tyler Dupont, left, escapes a defender during a recent workout at OPHS. The Eagles' rush-heavy offense is striving for better balance this season.

"I'll remain the school's athletic director because I still love teaching young kids. When it comes to that, I'm kind of like Dick Clark around here."

Billingsley is hoping to leave the program on a positive note, and to do so may take his best coaching effort.

A year ago, Billingsley led the Eagles to a win over rival Oaks Christian for the first time in four seasons. Oak Park finished in a three-way tie for first in the TVL before losing in the CIF-Southern Section Northwest Division semifinals to Oaks Christian.

The Eagles have senior Kyle Andrus returning at quarterback, but only three other starters return on offense and defense combined.

Still, Andrus is confident Oak Park will be competitive.

"We don't have the talent that maybe we had last year, but we are a close-knit unit," Andrus said. "I've known most of these guys for a long time. There are no cliques, and everyone realizes that it's going to take a group effort to win."

As a junior, Andrus completed 78-of-129 passes for 994 yards and 15 touchdowns.

With the addition of quarterbacks and wide receivers coach Erik Kramer, who played quarterback for 10 seasons in the NFL, including stints with the Bears, Chargers, Lions and Falcons, Andrus expects his performance to improve.

"Coach Kramer has really helped me," Andrus said. "I went to his camp the last two years, and he helped me with some minor stuff, like my footwork. Now he's helping me learn a completely new style of offense. He's teaching me how to throw the football better and make more quick passes than I did before."

A favorite target of Andrus should be senior wide receiver Max Fahn, who caught eight passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns in '07.

"We're expecting big things from (Fahn)," Billingsley said.

"He goes to the ball really well, and he's not afraid of going over the middle and getting hit."

Senior Grayson Phillips will move from the guard position to fullback to help the Eagles' running game. Phillips played running back his sophomore year on the junior varsity squad.

"It was fun playing guard last year, but I'm glad I'm back at the fullback position," Phillips said. "Playing the line will make me a better player in the long run."

Other offensive options include junior Cody Bathke at tight end, senior running backs Cody Skene and Tyler Dupont, as well as a pair of wideouts, senior Justin Romano and sophomore Tyler Benton.

Defensively, the Eagles are a team in transition.

OPHS graduated standouts Westgate, Chris DaCar, Dustin Geyer and Josh Marcus. They combined for 295 tackles last season.

Phillips will once again play linebacker, alongside seniors Trevor Goehring and Jeremy Kral. Senior Michael Brinkley will play defensive end, while Phillips' younger brother, Connor, is at defensive tackle.

"Unfortunately, we can't reload every year at every position like some schools we know," Billingsley said.

"We don't have the depth or talent at linebacker that we had last season. This year we're going to need 11 guys making the tackle, instead of relying on one player all the time."

Although the Eagles may not have the on-paper talent they've had in years past, Billingsley is still impressed with the way summer practices have gone.

"The closeness and camaraderie on this team is much greater than it's been in a while," Billingsley said.

"The last couple of years, the majority of the team relied too much on their talent, where this year the squad is relying more on their work ethic."

Oak Park begins its season Fri., Sept. 12 at home vs. Grace Brethren. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.