St. Bonny looms as biggest threat to Marmonte teams

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers BORN TO RUN—Thousand Oaks High wideout Curtis Dempster, center, gets a block from Ricky Minyard during last week's 27-26 victory at Newbury Park. TOHS hosts Santa Barbara in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Northern Division playoffs. NPHS and Westlake are on the road. On Friday night, four Marmonte League football teams begin their pursuit of a CIFSouthern Section Northern Division championship.

League title winner Moorpark High, the No. 2 overall seed in the Northern Division, opens at home against Camarillo. In other action, Thousand Oaks hosts Santa Barbara, while Westlake travels to Oxnard and Newbury Park faces St. Bonaventure at Larrabee Stadium in Ventura.

St. Bonaventure, the only private school competing in the Northern Division playoffs, enters the 16team field as the prohibitive favorite and No. 1 seed. The Seraphs are ranked fifth in California by CalHiSports.com, have won seven section titles in the past nine seasons and are the defending Division III state champions.

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers ESCAPE ROUTE—Newbury Park High wideout Phillip Muscarella, right, avoids Thousand Oaks defender Mitchell Korey in Week 10. Despite statistical evidence that suggests St. Bonaventure will march on to claim another CIFSS banner, teams are still required to suit up and play the games— and that means there's hope for everyone else involved.

Can a Marmonte League program challenge the mighty Seraphs, or will teams such as Pacific View League champion Oxnard or Foothill League winner Saugus throw a wrench into those plans?

Let's take a closer look at the Marmonte's foursome to see where each squad stands entering the postseason.

Moorpark Musketeers

Record: 9-1 overall, Marmonte champs

Firstround opponent: Hosting Camarillo (5-5 overall, third place in Pacific View) at 7 p.m.

Key players: RB Austin Edmonson (12 TDs); WR/DB Tim Vizzi (62 receptions); DL Corey Sandoval

Unsung hero: DE Cameron Phillips

Team strength: Defense Team weakness: Good luck finding one

Key victories: Ventura, Thousand Oaks, Westlake, Newbury Park

Overview: Moorpark wins with defense.

Opposing teams are only scoring 10.3 points per game against MHS, by far the lowest number in the Marmonte. The defensive line, featuring Taylor Ramsey, Quen Kantaris, Sandoval and Phillips, may be the premier runstuffing unit in the county.

Offensively, quarterback Brody Rohach has been extremely consistent since becoming the full-time starter during the season's second half. Vizzi has been Rohach's favorite target in the passing game, and Edmonson shoulders the rushing load.

"Each week Brody gets more comfortable in the pocket," Vizzi said. "He really is developing, playing great football and not making a lot of mistakes. He gets the job done each and every week."

Camarillo has played two Marmonte teams, Newbury Park and Agoura, and lost to both. Still, you can bet your bottom dollar head coach Tim Lins' group won't look past the Scorpions.

Senior defensive lineman Corey Sandoval says: "The way our defense plays, we feel like if the offense puts up seven points, then we should win the game. That's what we strive for."

Thousand Oaks Lancers

Record: 9-1 overall, second place in Marmonte

Firstround opponent: Hosting Santa Barbara (4-6 overall, third place in Channel) at 7 p.m.

Key players: RB John Lister (1,859 total yards); QB Ian Shultis (11TDs, 4 INTs); DL Josh Bounds

Unsung hero: WR/LB Ryan Thompson

Team strength: Running the football

Team weakness: Consistency in the passing game

Key victories: Valencia, Canyon, Westlake, Newbury Park

Overview: One or two bounces again Moorpark and Thousand Oaks is easily 10-0. As it is, TOHS finished with the program's best regular-season record since 1991—according to head coach Mike Leibin, the '91 squad actually posted an 82 regular-season mark but was later awarded a forfeit victory over Canyon.

The Lancers' success is predicated on two factors. The first is Lister's ability to run the ball behind an experienced, tough offensive line. Lister set a singleseason school record with 1,790 yards on the ground.

Thousand Oaks' defense is reason No. 2 for the team's success. Dereck Jester and Bounds are big, strong men in the trenches, and the team's linebacking corps has been playing at a high level for two consecutive seasons.

The Lancer secondary will be tested all night against Santa Barbara's highflying passing attack. Santa Barbara averages 32.9 points per game. As a team, the Dons have 3,799 passing yards and only 669 rushing yards. Quarterback John Uribe has completed 64 percent of his 459 pass attempts.

"It's a scary first-round draw for a No. 4 seed overall," Leibin said.

Senior defensive lineman Dereck Jester says: "I don't want to say we're a second-half team because we're more than that, but when it comes down to the wire, we just stick together and know how to play."

Westlake Warriors

Record: 6-4 overall, tied for third place in Marmonte

First-round opponent: At Oxnard (10-0 overall, Pacific View champs) at 7:30 p.m.

Key players: QB/WR Nick Isham (11TDs, 7 INTs); WR/DB Steve Hagy (55 receptions); RB/ LB Justin Lilley

Unsung hero: OL/DL Spencer Christiansen

Team strength: Scoring points

Team weakness: Stopping the run

Key victories: Paso Robles, Hart, Newbury Park

Overview: Injuries to senior quarterback Ben Conlin could've derailed this team, but Isham, the sophomore signalcaller/wide receiver, has performed well enough to get WHS back into the playoffs.

Westlake scored a Marmonteleading 327 points during the regular season. Hagy and James DeLaCerna combined for 103 catches and 14 touchdowns.

The Warriors face a stiff challenge at Oxnard. The Yellowjackets have held eight of 10 opponents to seven points or less, including three shutouts.

Oxnard likes to pound the ball on the ground—they average 8.2 yards per rush—and stopping opposing ball-carriers has been Westlake's Achilles' heel all year.

Newbury Park Panthers

Record: 7-3 overall, tied for third place in Marmonte

Firstround opponent: Playing St. Bonaventure (9-1 overall, Channel champs) at 7 p.m. at Larrabee Stadium

Key players: RB Cameron Roberson (6.5 yards per carry); WR/DB Phillip Muscarella (8 TDs); DE Jackson Powell

Unsung hero: WR/DB Josh Sackheim

Team strength: Running the football

Team weakness: Vertical passing game

Key victories: Camarillo, Agoura, Oak Park

Overview: Having running back/cornerback Chris Brown sidelined for most of the season with a neck injury has hindered the Panthers' explosiveness on offense. Brown missed the regularseason finale vs. Thousand Oaks and may sit out again this week.

Roberson, the junior tailback, has been as good as advertised. He's rushed for 1,348 yards on 206 carries. Outside of Muscarella, however, Newbury Park is short on playmakers in the receiving game. The Panthers' defense is one of the Marmonte's upper-echelon units.

Senior linebacker Brandon Born says: "I don't know about the rest of the team, but I'm furious after losing to T.O. in our last game. I'm not done playing football yet. This week's game will not be my final football game, and I'm sure the rest of the seniors feel that way, too."