The Marmonte League football race took another wide turn on Oct. 23.
Thanks to the Oaks Christian School defensive line.
Alifeleti Tuihalamaka had two sacks and four quarterback hurries as the Lions suffocated visiting Newbury Park, 14-6, to keep their playoff hopes alive on Friday night.
“We made it as dramatic as we have all year,” said Oaks Christian head coach Rudy Carlton. “Huge win. I’m proud of our guys. ... We did a really good job making the job tough for their quarterbacks.”
After a scoreless first half, Oaks Christian’s Drew Rolison recovered a muffed second-half kickoff and the Lions capitalized with an 8-yard Cody Bird TD pass to Xavier Burkett.
Newbury Park
pulled within 7-6 early in the fourth quarter on Brodie Scheinberg’s 9-yard TD pass to Tyler Stromsoe, but Oaks Christian blocked the PAT and added an insurance score on Bird’s 21-yard strike to Aidan Crecion.
Newbury Park had several late chances to tie the game, but Oaks Christian piled up five sacks and 11 hurries in defending the lead.
“We got our butt kicked up front on offense,” said Newbury Park head coach Joe Smigiel. “That was one of best (defensive) lines I have ever coached against in high school.
“The fact they had only won one game blew my mind.”
Oaks Christian (2-7), which improved to 2-2 in Marmonte League play, hosts Bishop Diego in its regular-season finale this Friday.
Newbury Park (6-3), which fell into a three-way tie for first place with Pacifica and St. Bonaventure at 3-1, travels to the St. Bonaventure this Friday with a share of the title on the line.
Moorpark 37, Ventura 24
Brody Tweedy rushed for 154 yards on 27 carries and Dawson Armstrong completed 16 of 25 passes for 245 yards and three TDs as the Musketeers pulled into a three-way tie for first place in the Channel League with a home win.
Blake Davidson returned an interception 60 yards for a TD and Davis Benson reeled in an 82-yard scoring strike as Moorpark scored three straight TDs to take control in the third quarter.
“We really settled in,” said Moorpark head coach Christian Dearborn. “Second half, we just wore on them.”
Moorpark (7-2), which improved to 3-1 in the Channel League, visits Westlake this Friday. The two teams are tied for first with Santa Barbara heading into the final week of the regular season.
“The kids are stoked,” Dearborn said. “Very few people would have drawn it up this way.”
James Watson returned from injury and ran for 59 yards on six carries and caught five passes for 24 yards, but the Cougars were still without injured star Tristan Savage.
Gavin Scarlett threw two TD passes to Jaddyn Delorenzo for Ventura (6-3, 2-2), which is now in jeopardy of missing out on an automatic postseason berth.
“We couldn’t stop them,” said Ventura head coach Tim Garcia. “When you can’t shut down the run at all, the play-action throw opens up.”
Ventura will host Rio Mesa this Friday in its regular-season finale.
Santa Barbara 13, Westlake 10
Hendrix Tucker's 80-yard TD pass to Jack Tasker gave Westlake a 10-6 lead midway through the fourth quarter, but Santa Barbara answered with an 85-yard strike that held up for the decisive points.
The loss knocked Westlake (7-2) into a three-way tie for first place with Santa Barbara (6-3) and Moorpark.
Fillmore 14, Dos Pueblos 0
Micah Harm ran for 127 yards and a TD on 23 carries as the Flashes clinched a share of the Tri-County League title with a road win in Goleta.
“It was a gritty one,” said Fillmore head coach Charlie Weis. “It’s nice to know you can win a physical one. … That was one of the best defensive lines we’ve played all season.”
Nate Perez completed 10 of 16 passes for 130 yards and a TD for the Flashes, who have seven straight games.
Jayce Burboa and James Magana had key interceptions to protect the Fillmore shutout.
“We started inside our own 10-yard line four times,” Weis said. “It was tight, but it was impressive to see the team come together.”
Fillmore (7-2), now 4-0 in Tri-County League play, wraps up its regular season by hosting rival Santa Paula this Friday.
Calabasas 55, Buena 10
The first-place Coyotes had their highest scoring performance in four years, with seven different players accounting for eight total TDs in a Coastal 101 League win.
“They executed,” Calabasas head coach Cary Harris said. “They finished plays, they played together.”
Calabasas (8-1, 4-0) will play Agoura at home for the league title this Friday.
Kingston Celifie opened the scoring with a punt return for a score, then reeled in a TD pass from quarterback Dominik Hardy, who hit four different receivers and rushed for another score.
Buena quarterback Dylan Nicholson completed 9 of 11 passes for 117 yards, one TD and one interception. Jayden Hodgins caught an 18-yard TD pass, Brandon Thomas had a 50-yard catch and Josiah Perez caught five passes for 69 yards.
Buena defensive lineman Andrew Bishop had eight total tackles, two tackles for a loss and a blocked field goal. Senior defensive back Kaleb Alarcon had an interception.
Buena (0-9, 0-4) will finish its season this Friday at Camarillo.
Agoura 49, Oxnard 12
Kris Carranza completed 8 of 10 passes for 255 yards and four TDs, three to Anderson Mercer, as the Chargers (8-1) kept pace with Calabasas atop the Coastal 101 League standings at 4-0 and set up a winner-take-all for the title this Friday.
“He’s settling in, which was great,” Agoura head coach Dustin Croick said of Carranza. “Anderson had a really big night.”
Mercer had four catches for 179 yards and three TDs, including a 89-yard hook-and-ladder late in the first half, and added an interception on defense.
Landon Williams ran for 64 yards and a TD on seven carries, George Hastings had a 36-yard TD run and Ezra Ackrich had a 6-yard TD run for the Chargers. Emerson Andrews caught a 12-yard TD pass and had 3.5 of Agoura’s 16 tackles for a loss.
Adrian Guerra hit Nicholas Shannon for a 73-yard TD and Aaron Salazar had a 45-yard TD run for Oxnard (3-6, 1-3), which will finish its regular season at home against Oak Park this Friday.
Oak Park 28, Camarillo 27
Camarillo threatened to climb out of a 28-14 deficit, but Oak Park turned away a last-minute two-point attempt with the game on the line to move into third place in the Coastal 101 League.
“Thank goodness because we’re 0-2 in overtime,” said Oak Park head coach Casey Webb with a laugh.
Oak Park quarterback Bryson Kennedy completed 15 of 26 passes for 242 yards and two TDs and ran for two more TDs.
Both TD passes went to Gary Ferguson, who caught five passes for 156 yards.
“They caught us with a couple deep shots," said Camarillo head coach Nate Anderson. “No. 1 (Ferguson) is pretty good.”
Luke Zapko had seven tackles and an interception to lead the Oak Park defense. Wes Arnold and Bodie Atkin had sacks.
“I felt like we were finally on the same page with everybody,” Webb said. “The team chemistry is happening.”
Brad Barlow completed 30 of 49 passes for 361 yards and three TDs and ran for a TD for fourth-place Camarillo (4-5, 1-3), which will finish the regular season by hosting Buena this Friday.
Johnny Diaz finished with eight receptions for 98 yards, Jacob Garcia had six catches for 68 yards and a TD, Cary Kennington caught five passes for 61 yards and a TD, and Cruz Howe had six catches for 51 yards and a TD for the Scorpions.
“Our kids don’t quit,” said Anderson. “They fight. We just lacked a couple execution plays towards the end.”
Oak Park (6-3, 2-2) can clinch a playoff berth by beating host Oxnard this Friday.
Rio Mesa 41, Thousand Oaks 7
Nate Marin rushed for 173 yards and two TDs on 14 carries as Rio Mesa (3-6, 1-3) earned its first Channel League win in style.
“It’s the first time we came out and were hitting on all cylinders early,” said Rio Mesa head coach Jim Bittner.
Quarterback Landon Edge completed 8 of 17 passes for 144 yards and ran for two TDs. Neo Lewis caught three passes for 103 yards and returned an interception 94 yards for a score.
Jodey Conyers had a pair of sacks and an interception to lead the defense.
Rio Mesa will end the regular season at Ventura this Friday. Thousand Oaks (1-8, 0-4) will host Santa Barbara.
Royal 21, San Marcos 14
The Highlanders relied on stalwart defense and senior back Landon Shaffer’s tough running to return to the win column.
Shaffer opened the score for Royal with a 83-yard run in the first quarter.
“He definitely carried us on his back,” Royal head coach Cody MacArthur said.
Rishabh Sharma’s 30-yard interception return for a TD put Royal up 14-7 in the third quarter. Linebacker Skylar Batchelor finished with an interception, seven solo tackles and was a menace in the backfield for the Highlanders.
“It was complete defensive domination,” MacArthur said.
Josh Garcia’s 2-yard rushing TD in the fourth quarter proved the deciding score.
Royal (8-1) is second in the Tri-County League at 3-1 and can clinch an automatic playoff berth with a win at Hueneme this Friday.
Santa Paula 21, Hueneme 19
Dominic Alcantar returned from injury and rushed for 190 yards on 23 carries to power the Cardinals.
“It’s good to have him back and it’s good to see our run game flourish,” Santa Paula head coach Mike Montoya said.
Quarterback Rene Vega ran for two TDs and Gael Flores had an 11-yard TD run for the Cardinals.
Santa Paula (4-5, 1-3 Tri-County) will visit Fillmore in the storied Route 126 rivalry game this Friday.
Kelechi Ofoego, the leading rusher in the county, piled up 126 yards and a pair of TDs on 23 carries for Hueneme.
Sophomore quarterback Sonny Campos started in place of Alex Bravo, who missed the game with an injury. He completed 7 of 18 pass attempts for 147 yards and a TD. Sophomore receiver Carlos Flores caught three passes for 81 yards and a TD for the Vikings.
Hueneme (1-8, 0-4) will host Royal in its season finale this Friday.
Del Sol 21, Carpinteria 10
The Jaguars defense pitched a second-half shutout to keep their playoff hopes alive with a Citrus Coast League victory on the road.
“The defense played like the defense we are going to need, if we make the playoffs,” Del Sol head coach James Nelson said.
Linebacker Lalo Rodriguez moved to inside linebacker and disrupted the Carpinteria offense.
“He was in the backfield all night,” Nelson Siad
Del Sol scored first on a TD run from Hector Villasenor. Quarterback Jayden Ramirez hit receivers Chris Cazares and Anthony Perez on scoring strikes to go up 21-10 at halftime.
“Now that we are finally here, the message this final week is win and get in against Santa Clara,” Nelson said. “The boys are embracing that.”
A win for Del Sol (3-6, 2-2) against Santa Clara at home this Friday will earn the second-year program’s first playoff berth.
Channel Islands 23, Santa Clara 15
A fourth-quarter comeback led the Raiders to their second win of the season and kept them in the playoff hunt in the Citrus Coast League.
Channel Islands scored twice in the final quarter to overcome a 16-7 deficit.
“It was very good to see the boys find a way to fight back,” Channel Islands head coach Jeremiah Valoaga said. “We were missing that a lot this year. (Friday), it clicked within them.”
Senior running back Zaul Pacheco and junior Christian Martinez had rushing scores that powered the comeback. Andrew Chavez scored a TD in the first quarter.
Rudy Cerna rushed for two TDs and Diego Marin had a first-quarter safety for the Saints (4-5, 0-4).
The Raiders (2-7, 2-2) will face league champion Grace on the road this Friday.
Simi Valley 40, Bishop Diego 14
Sal Villa ran for 96 yards and three TDs on 15 carries and Connor Petrov completed 14 of 20 passes for 155 yards and two TDs as the Pioneers kept their playoff hopes alive with a road win Thursday night in Santa Barbara.
Evan Porhola ran for a TD and Micah Hannah and Giacarlo Leone caught TD passes for the Pioneers (5-4), who improved to 1-3 in Marmonte League play.
Simi Valley visits Pacifica this Friday in its regular-season finale.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: League races will come down to the wire after dramatic Week 9
