The Acorn's High School Football Game of the Week
Thousand Oaks Lancers (3-2) at Moorpark Musketeers (3-2) Friday, 7 p.m.
By Stephen Dorman sdorman@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers GETTING THE TOUGH YARDS- Thousand Oaks running back Michael Gallardo tears himself away from a Calabasas defender.

Darrell Scott isn't walking through that door. Thousand Oaks High football fans should breathe a sigh of relief.

If any team benefited the most from Scott's transfer from Moorpark High to St. Bonaventure before the school year, it was Thousand Oaks- a defense Scott shredded for 245 rushing yards as a sophomore and 275 yards as a junior.

In preparing his team for Friday night's game at Moorpark, Thousand Oaks first-year head coach Mike Leibin chooses to focus on the present- rather than dwell on the past.

"We're a different team than those two years," Leibin said. "We're running different schemes with different coaches. I don't believe the history of Moorpark playing Thousand Oaks really comes into the equation as much as it's our guys now versus their guys now.

"We're going to have to play really sound. We're going to have to play really aggressive. And we're going to have to play really smart."

Thousand Oaks must be physical, too.

When these two rivals face off the stakes are elevated, players go all out and helmets swap paint with jarring tackles. It's the hardnosed nature of what has been a building rivalry for some time.

No player may have a bigger overall impact in the outcome as TOHS senior Scott Luft. Luft's on-field duties include starting at outside linebacker and wide receiver. He's also the team's place-kicker and punter.

Luft, whose older brother Matt is a starting wide receiver at Harvard University, said he's tired of losing to Moorpark.

"The fact that I've lost to them my first two years of varsity football, that makes this a really big game for me," Luft said. "I- we- really want to get this win."

Since losing its first two games, TOHS has caught fire. The Lancers are averaging 39.6 points per game during their current three-game winning streak.

Junior quarterback Ian Shultis said the turnaround has been an entire team effort. In particular, he credits the play of six offensive linemen- center Gavin Creps, guards Clint Abraham and Brandon Hammond, and tackles Dan Pinsky, Jordan Allred and Dillon Brockert.

"Every game starts up front. For backs and skill players to do what they need to do, you've got to have protection up front," said Shultis, who's thrown for 876 yards and six touchdowns. "Those (linemen) are the key players for this offense."

Starting running back John Lister went down with a knee injury two weeks ago against Agoura and was held out of the Calabasas game. He remains dayto-day, according to Leibin.

Evan Yabu and Ryan Thompson stepped in for Lister, and the Lancers didn't miss a beat. Yabu has 289 rushing yards in his last two games, while Thompson's found the end zone in each contest.

Leibin knows Moorpark's offense will rely heavily on thirdyear starting quarterback Adam Barry. Still, the coach said stopping the run is priority No. 1.

Sophomore Austin Edmonson replaced Scott. At 5-foot-7 and 155 pounds, Edmonson isn't as physically imposing his predecessor, but he's talented, nonetheless.

"Their offense has always started with the run," Leibin said. "They might be throwing the ball more now than they used to, but you've got to stop that run game and effectively limit the throw game, and prevent the big plays."