Viewpoint of Calabasas opens season with 43-28 victory

Special to The Acorn


STEVE AMES/The Acorn  LOCAL PATRIOTS-A trio of Viewpoint School's eight-man football team and the coach, from left to right: Ryan Falck, Agoura, senior tight end/defensive end; Booth Ramsay, Oak Park, senior wide receiver/linebacker; head coach Derek McIntyre; and Daniel Wasser, running back/defensive back, Thousand Oaks. McIntyre says that eight-man football enables a wide open offensive style of play.

STEVE AMES/The Acorn LOCAL PATRIOTS-A trio of Viewpoint School’s eight-man football team and the coach, from left to right: Ryan Falck, Agoura, senior tight end/defensive end; Booth Ramsay, Oak Park, senior wide receiver/linebacker; head coach Derek McIntyre; and Daniel Wasser, running back/defensive back, Thousand Oaks. McIntyre says that eight-man football enables a wide open offensive style of play.

It’s eight-man football, but it’s taken every bit as seriously as conventional 11-man football for members of the Viewpoint High School Patriots of Calabasas.


The Patriots opened the season last Friday night with a 43-28 victory over the host Desert Christian High Conquerors at Bermuda Dunes. The team’s first home game, at Calabasas High School’s football field, is 7 p.m. this Sat., Sept. 20 against the Tri-City Christian School Eagles of Vista.


"I don’t think we treat it any different than we do an 11-man program," said Derek McIntyre, in his eighth season of serving as Viewpoint’s head coach. "It’s what you make out of it.


"Granted, there’s three less guys on the field for you, but really, it comes down to you have to block and you have to tackle. If you don’t block, you don’t tackle, you don’t win."


The coaching staff emphasizes the same things—about doing things well and taking pride in the program.


"I love the game and the kids are terrific," said McIntyre, who played football at Cleveland High School, at Los Angeles Valley College and at Cal State University Northridge. His background was in 11-man football. At Viewpoint, he’s also a physical education teacher for grades six through 12.


"We’ve been very successful," McIntyre said. "If you treat it as though it’s a big-time program, it’s going to be a big-time program. If you do things small-time, it’s going to be small-time. These guys take a lot of pride in the program."


The coach said he’s pleased to have a large group of seniors, half of the 20 man roster, plus assistant coaches and others who work hard at every practice and during every game.


"They understand the game—that football is still football," McIntyre said. "It’s eight-man football, but they’re still hitting and they’re still tackling, and there’s some of those guys in the NFL.


"It’s a fun game. It’s a different game in the sense that there’s a lot of high scoring action. If you’re a defensive coordinator, it could be your worst nightmare because one missed tackle and the guy’s gone. You don’t have those extra three guys for support."


Fewer players also makes it a wide-open, high scoring game.


"But we don’t treat it differently. The guys come out and we work hard. They put in a lot of time in the weight room during the spring and summer. They’re doing everything everybody else is doing."


The Patriots were 7-3 overall and Heritage League co-champions last season and they’re shooting for another league championship and a California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) championship.


McIntyre said the Heritage League has traditionally been a pretty strong eight-man conference. It includes Grace Brethren of Simi Valley.


"It’s a tough league," he said. "You’ve got to come to play each week. Each school has coaches who really get out and scout, and do their homework and prepare on the practice field."


With only 20 players on the roster, the coach said it’s also crucial to stay healthy.


"You’re going to face good games each week, and you have to be prepped and ready to go when you get to playoffs," McIntyre said.


The coach cited three players for their outstanding contributions to the team last season: Booth Ramsay of Oak Park, Ryan Falck of Agoura Hills and Daniel Wasser of Thousand Oaks.


In addition to Ramsay, Falck and Wasser, this season’s team of 20 players also includes Agoura Hills senior fullback/linebacker Neil Chatani, Calabasas sophomore quarterback/defensive back Ryan Tellez, senior center/defensive end Adam Leibovitch and junior tight end/defensive end Jordan Hoffman, Thousand Oaks sophomore tight end/defensive end Evan Gates and Westlake Village sophomore wide receiver/defensive back Greg Minihan.


To be successful in eight-man football, every player has "got to want it. You have to be hungry for not only success at this level but to be successful at the next level. You’ve got to put in a lot of time and effort," McIntyre said.


This year’s seniors, the coach said, are special because they’ve really worked hard and they’ve been together for all four years.


"They grew up on the JV team together and they’ve put in a tremendous amount of time this summer," McIntyre said. "We were practicing four times a week, three hours. And we were putting in countless hours in the weight room.


"We definitely have a few kids who want to play in college. Any kid coming out of here academically is going to be able to pretty much choose what college he wants to attend."




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