Love wins the day

Tragedy, loss and devastation bring out the best in our local sports teams




MAY HIS MEMORY BE A BLESSING—Cody Coffman celebrates during a game with the Camarillo High football team. Coffman was killed during a mass shooting at Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks on Nov. 7. He was 22 years old. Courtesy photo

MAY HIS MEMORY BE A BLESSING—Cody Coffman celebrates during a game with the Camarillo High football team. Coffman was killed during a mass shooting at Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks on Nov. 7. He was 22 years old. Courtesy photo

The worst tragedies brought out the best in humankind.

Twelve people were killed during a mass shooting at Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks on the night of Wed., Nov. 7. The next day, the Hill and Woolsey fires ignited, ravaging the Acorn countryside and surrounding areas, burning homes, property and land, and taking the lives of at least three people.

Death did not reign. Anarchy didn’t devour.

Love won the day.

“I’ve seen people love people,” said Casey Webb, head coach of Oak Park High’s football team and an Agoura resident. “People love to do good things for people. Everybody wants to do amazing things for one another.”

In the wide, wide world of sports, the Acorn resides in a small, cozy nook. But this week, the outpouring of good from local athletes, coaches and teams resonated loudly, in ways large and small.

Andrew Whitworth, an offensive tackle for the Los Angeles Rams, donated an entire game paycheck to the Borderline shooting victims and their families.

STRONGER TOGETHER—High school cross country runners from Westlake, Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park gather after racing in the CIF-Southern Section prelims last week in Riverside. Courtesy of Chad Scott

STRONGER TOGETHER—High school cross country runners from Westlake, Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park gather after racing in the CIF-Southern Section prelims last week in Riverside. Courtesy of Chad Scott

“It doesn’t stop there. There will be more to come,” Whitworth said after the Rams defeated the Seattle Seahawks 36-31 on Sunday. “There’s more for us to do as people. . . . If people just get off their butts and help each other, wrap our arms around each other and help each other through adversity, then that’s all that really matters.”

Local high school football teams at Calabasas, Oaks Christian, Hillcrest Christian, Camarillo and Grace Brethren won playoff games under duress last weekend. Simi Valley completed its best season in several years. Some kids suited up not knowing if their homes would still be standing by the end of the night.

Johnny Williams, a senior running back for Calabasas, helped the Coyotes defeat San Juan Hills 41-20 on Saturday; the game was pushed back one day because of the fires.

After the win, Williams tweeted: “Last night was for Ventura County,” adding heart and peace sign emojis. The running back has picked up Ivy League offers to play college football at Brown, Penn and Cornell.

 

 

Josh Calvert, Oaks Christian’s quarterback and linebacker, wrote on Twitter: “That one was for the city. #805Strong.”

Calvert, a University of Washington commit, helped the Lions overcome a 14-point deficit to defeat JSerra 35-34 last weekend on the road. Oaks Christian’s Garth White kicked the game-winning 26-yard field goal with 18 seconds remaining in the emotional Division 1 quarterfinal victory.

Boys’ cross country teams at Westlake, Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park qualified for the CIF-Southern Section finals. After racing at prelims last week, the three teams gathered for a photo in a sign of unity.

“It doesn’t matter what team we’re competing for. It doesn’t’ matter where we’re from globally or politically. When it comes down to it, we’re really in it for each other,” said Chad Scott, Westlake’s co-head coach. “We are humans. We care about each other. We are T.O. Strong.

“Right now with the shooting and the fires, we’re being tested mentally and physically. But we’re going to get through it together because we care about each other. That’s what we do.”

Girls’ cross country teams at Westlake, Newbury Park, Moorpark and Simi Valley also qualified for the section finals.

Conejo Valley squads practiced in Moorpark on Tuesday. Las Virgenes and Conejo Valley schools will be closed until after the Thanksgiving holiday. Local athletes will be running hard for each other trying to qualify for the state meet.

“When we’re out there in the race, we’re competitive. We want to win,” Scott said. “But once that race is over, we do care about one another. We are all Conejo together.”

On the other side of the country, a University of Wisconsin student made his voice heard.

Matthew Mitnick, a Westlake grad, helped organize a vigil on the Madison campus for shooting and fire victims.

“I felt helpless. I wanted to do something to support my friends and family,” Mitnick told the Acorn. “The shooting just consumed my thoughts the entire day. We’ve become desensitized to these shootings. When it happens to your hometown, it’s hard to move on. I had to get involved. . . .

“We’re here for our friends in Thousand Oaks and all those who are suffering, no matter what the issue is.”

Mitnick, a Wisconsin freshman who competed in cross country, track and field, and baseball in high school, completed the Wisconsin Marathon on Sunday. The road warrior donned a T-shirt that read “Thousand Oaks Strong” on the front, and “#805Strong” on the back during the marathon. His twin brother, Michael, a University of Washington freshman, flew in to cheer for the Badger.

A political science major, Mitnick is running for the District 8 seat on the Madison City Council. Election Day is April 2, 2019.

Andrew Berard, a cancer survivor and 2017 Thousand Oaks grad, joined forces with his fellow Lancers to create T.O. Strong shirts, with all proceeds going toward the Borderline shooting victims and people affected by the fires through the Ventura County Community Foundation.

Berard, a UCLA student, played baseball for the Lancers.

The home of Dylan Rodgers, an Oak Park football player and straight-A student, was damaged by the fire. Rodgers didn’t feel sorry for himself; instead, he reached out to the community and offered to help his neighbors. He laced his boots, picked up a shovel, put on a mask and went to work.

“That shows how selfless he is,” Webb said of Rodgers. “He texted me, ‘Coach, what can we do?’ Everybody wants to reach out and help everybody, whether they’ve been affected or not.”

Rodgers sent this message on Twitter: “I’m extremely proud of our community and to be an Eagle this week.”

We should all be proud of him, and all those who have opened their hearts and spread love.

Email sports editor Eliav Appelbaum at eliav@theacorn.com.