The Acorn's High School Football Game of the Week

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers OH, WHAT A FEELING—Calabasas High wide receiver Shane Wilson leads the football team through a crowd of thrilled students, giving high-fives and slaps on the back following Calabasas' 23-13 win over Hueneme last Friday evening at CHS. It wasn't a shock that moments after the Calabasas High football team beat Hueneme last week, 23-13, the CHS students rushed Keith Ritchie Field.

Who could blame them?

The last time the Coyotes had won a home game was against Nordhoff on Sept. 27, 2002. The 27-game losing streak lasted so long, it's almost as if the home fans forgot how to react to a win.

Head coach Lance Martin, however, was different.

During the wild celebration that ensued as the final second ticked off the clock, Martin had only one thing on his mind—to get his players to shake the Vikings' hands.

The fans may have thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime event, but Martin believes it's a sign of things to come.

"I'm not telling any of our players to remember this feeling (like) it may never happen again," Martin said.

"We're moving forward, not backward."

When Calabasas hosts Channel Islands on Friday night, the Coyotes will have an opportunity to prove their coach correct.

Last year, Calabasas beat Channel Islands on the road 28-14, ending its losing skid at 44 games, the third-longest streak in state history.

Now, CHS gets Channel Islands in front of its highspirited home faithful.

Although the Coyotes have earned an opportunity to begin Marmonte League play in Week 4 with a winning record, the words "winning streak" and

"Calabasas" haven't necessarily gone hand-in-hand in recent years.

Still, Martin isn't concerned about any type of letdown.

"It's going to be easy to motivate the team in practice this week because the team has now experienced a win, and they want more," Martin said.

"We're going to put the Hueneme game behind us very fast and concentrate on Channel Islands."

Calabasas senior Shyan Ardalan agreed.

"We need to come back and practice hard every day," Ardalan said. "It feels amazing to get a win after all we've been through, and I want to feel this again."

Channel Islands is 0-3 and is coming off a 35-7 home loss to Santa Clara.

The Raiders had trouble defending the run last week as Santa Clara's Cierre Wood rushed 12 times for 259 yards and three touchdowns.

Calabasas will likely try to pound the football with senior Josh Baynard, who ran 13 times for 85 yards last week.

A good rushing attack will allow sophomore quarterback Kyle Zion more time to throw to his pass-catchers, guys like junior Alex Hanover, who caught a 33yard touchdown vs. Hueneme.

The Coyotes' biggest strength, however, is their defense.

Against Hueneme, CHS intercepted five passes, including two by freshman Matt Baynard. Junior Will Trotta returned another interception for a score.

After the game, fans cheered as the bell above the home bleachers rang out 10 times (once for each point Calabasas won by).

As Martin was being interviewed while the bell tolled, the coach took time to reflect on the moment. After about the fifth ring, Martin said, "So you were asking me about next week?"

Things continue to move forward at Calabasas.

Players to Watch

Outlook

Two consecutive home victories is a very real

possibility for Calabasas, which, before last

week's win against Hueneme, hadn't won a home

game since Sept. 27, 2002. If the Coyote defense continues to create turnovers and hold its ground in

the trenches, more good times are ahead.