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Lancers looking to repeat as champs
Early in the season everything is looking good for the Lancers. They came out of the starting gate by winning their first nine games before losing to Westlake by one point last week. Looking especially stellar is the Thousand Oaks defense, which has held its opponents to 50 points or under in all but one game. “Obviously we put a lot of emphasis on our defense,” Thousand Oaks head coach Rich Endres said. “We need to come out each and every night and play smart and aggressive defense in order to win. The game the other night against Westlake that we lost, we held them to only 36 points. Ninety percent of the time if you hold your opponent to that much you are going to win.”
“The loss to Westlake was just one game,” Poppen said. “I think it was the first time we were held under 60 points all year. So I do believe we have a good offense.” Maclas agreed with his teammate but said the team could still improve. “I think this season the work ethic has been a lot better with this team,” Maclas said. “We need to execute better on the offensive end of the ball as we have been playing good defense this year.” Endres said this team has many similarities with other teams he’s coached in the past. “We have a good mix of levels on this team with players at the senior, junior, sophomore and now even freshman level,” Endres said. “There is a tradition here and an expectation to win. These kids realize that, and they come in with a mindset that they are going to win league.” One thing new for the Lancers this year is a freshman on the varsity team. According to Endres, Alex Tiffin becomes only the third freshman in the school’s history to play on the varsity team. “He’s a young man that works very hard and is very knowledgeable about the game,” Endres said. “He still needs to work on his physical game and his foot speed, but that will come. He’s played on a lot of good club teams before high school, and I wanted to have him pushed and play at a higher level where he can get better.” The 6-foot-4 center is glad to be on the team early in his career at TOHS. “I was very excited when I found out I’d be on the varsity team this year,” Tiffin said. “The game at the varsity level has been a lot quicker, and the players are stronger. The coaches and other players have given me good advice by telling me to keep learning and working hard in practice.” Besides M a c l a s , Poppen and T i f f i n , Endres has also been very pleased with the play of brothers Michael and T y l e r Shelton. “ T h e y both play very intense and give you everything they’ve got all the time,” Endres said. “They’re always running and diving for balls, anything they can to win games. I think their energy rubs off on a lot of our players.” Although the Lancers finished at the top of the standings in 200506, the players and coaches know it will take a lot of hard work to repeat in the tough Marmonte League. “We don’t look down the road,” Maclas said. “We can’t take anyone for granted in this league, and we have to keep our focus on the game at hand.” Endres agreed with the senior guard. “With us losing by one the other night to Westlake and Simi beating Calabasas basically on a buzzer beater the other night, that just shows you how tough this league is going to be this year,” Endres said. “I think we are one of four teams that should be beating up on each other all year. We are going to have to play hard, but we’ll also need a little good luck in order to win.” The Lancers’ next game is Jan. 5 against Moorpark at Thousand Oaks. |
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