Oaks Christian

Normal, quiet life in suburbia is going to come to a screeching halt in Westlake Village on Thursday night as all eyes focus on the Marmonte League football showdown between Oaks Christian (3-1, 3-0) and host Westlake (4-0, 3-0). If the matchup is anywhere close to what happened the last time these two neighborhood rivals played, Westlake Coach Jim Benkert will get a few more gray hairs and Oaks Christian Coach Bill Redell will get even balder. Oaks Christian defeated Westlake, 29-28, in the Northern Division championship game when a 41-yard field-goal try by Alex Ball hit the right goal post with one second left.

What a wild scene it was Friday night in the gym at West Hills Chaminade. "The Cage," as Chaminade students call it, was loud, energetic and relentless in support of its home team in a Southern Section Division 4AA second-round playoff game. That made what Westlake Village Oaks Christian pulled off even more impressive. With Jason Ghilarducci and Michael Roletti contributing 18 points apiece, the Lions (22-5) defeated Chaminade, 63-57, leaving the Eagles stunned. "Of course, it was fun," Ghilarducci said.

No. 4 Westlake Village Oaks Christian (2-0) at Sammamish (Wash.) Skyline (2-0), 7 p.m. , ESPNU -- A victory at Skyline might temporarily silence those who contend that Oaks Christian feasts on a weak nonleague schedule. The Totems are two-time defending Washington state champions who have won 30 consecutive games and feature Brigham Young-bound quarterback Jake Heaps. A triumph would give Oaks Christian Coach Bill Redell his 200th coaching victory in 22 years at the high school level.

Nike Extravaganza At Mater Dei Friday: Fairmont Prep vs. La Quinta, 3 p.m. Rialto vs. Rosary (girls), 4:30 p.m. Orange Lutheran vs. Oaks Christian (girls), 6 p.m. St. John Bosco vs. Mater Dei, 7:30 p.m. Windward vs. Mater Dei (girls), 9 p.m. Saturday: Upland vs. Los Alamitos, 9 a.m. Colony vs. JSerra, 10:20 a.m. Ocean View vs. Mission Viejo, 11:40 a.m. Fairfax vs. Eisenhower, 1:30 p.m. Westchester vs. Capistrano Valley, 3 p.m. Taft vs. Loyola, 4:30 p.m. Long Beach Poly vs. Orange Lutheran, 6 p.m. Mater Dei vs. La Verne Lutheran, 7:30 p.m. Bishop Gorman vs. Whitney Young, 9 p.m.

It's time to look into my crystal ball and see what 2010 has in store for the world of high school sports and beyond. Here's what I'm seeing: Santa Ana Mater Dei's Gary McKnight , after becoming the winningest basketball coach in California prep history, will be invited to appear on "Dancing With the Stars." Wide receivers will be the No. 1 target of college football recruiters in Southern California this fall, with an intense debate breaking out over who's best among George Farmer of Gardena Serra, Victor Blackwell of Mater Dei, Antoine Arnold of Temecula Chaparral and Nelson Spruce of Westlake Village Westlake.

Aaron Ware, the younger brother of UCLA-bound football standout Matt Ware of Loyola High, has decided to attend Oaks Christian High in Westlake Village. Ware, a 5-foot-10 eighth-grader, is a highly regarded running back and joins an Oaks Christian football program that will compete in its first varsity season this fall.

For the first time since the program rose from obscurity three years ago, Westlake Village Oaks Christian was forced to rally from a fourth-quarter deficit and work overtime Saturday afternoon at the Home Depot Center in Carson. The Lions, ranked No. 2 in the state by CalHiSports.com, held on to defeat No. 18 Santa Rosa Cardinal Newman, 27-20, in the inaugural CIF Division III State Championship Bowl Game, extending their winning streak to a state-leading 46 games.

There was a traffic jam of epic proportions Friday night in Westlake Village, and it involved trying to walk around Oaks Christian's sideline, where everyone and his brother seemed to have a pass allowing them to be up close when history was made.

Peter Ackermann, coach at Westlake Village Oaks Christian, said that Saturday was among the greatest days in the program's history. Behind the play of senior Ashley Veilleux and sophomore Taylor Schlopy, the Lions beat two formidable opponents, Goleta Dos Pueblos, 7-1, and Santa Ana Mater Dei, 3-0, in the Thousand Oaks tournament to advance to the semifinals next Saturday.

There's a new hero at Westlake Village Oaks Christian, and his name is Richie Harrington, a senior quarterback who replaced an ineffective Trevor Gretzky in the third quarter of Friday night's Marmonte League opener against Ventura St. Bonaventure and came away with an improbable 33-32 overtime victory. With Oaks Christian trailing, 19-0, and the fog rolling in at Ventura High, Harrington orchestrated two scoring drives to pull his team within 19-14, scoring on a one-yard run at the end of the third quarter.

If someone decided to do a reality TV show about Etiwanda basketball Coach Dave Kleckner, it would be titled "The Last Man Standing. " Kleckner proudly tells everyone and anyone that his teams have "not played a second" of zone defense since he became head coach in 1996. And it's not just the varsity being directed to play man-to-man defense, but the junior varsity and freshman teams. "If you can't guard the ball, you won't play," Kleckner said. "Every player at every level knows it. " Coaching in high school is about making adjustments depending on your personnel, but Kleckner is sticking with his belief that teaching man-to-man defense will prepare his players for the next level, even if a zone defense might help on occasion.

After falling behind by 14 points late in the second quarter, Westlake High responded like a champion, scoring 28 unanswered points before holding on for a 49-42 victory over host Oaks Christian in the CIF Southern Section Northern Division final Friday night in Westlake Village. Dashon Hunt scored five touchdowns for the Warriors (14-0), who likely wrapped up the Open Division state bowl berth by avenging their 29-28 loss to Oaks Christian in last season's title game. Hunt's one-yard plunge late in the fourth quarter gave Westlake a 49-35 lead.

It is only fitting that Jordan Payton end his high school career with a championship football game for Westlake Village Oaks Christian, because he has been a consistent, invaluable weapon during his four-year varsity career. "He's the most outstanding receiver to ever come from Oaks Christian," Coach Bill Redell said. Payton enters Friday's Northern Division final against Westlake Village Westlake with 175 receptions for 2,844 yards and 42 touchdowns, all school records. "Time flies definitely in high school," Payton said.

A standing-room-only crowd of more than 5,500. A national television audience. Neighbor playing against neighbor. There was immense pressure on Westlake Village Westlake junior quarterback Justin Moore to perform well against Westlake Village Oaks Christian on Thursday night. No one needed to worry. Delivering in the clutch is nothing new for Moore. As a freshman, he came off the bench in the Northern Division championship game in 2009 to replace an injured Nick Isham and led the Warriors to victory over Moorpark.

Normal, quiet life in suburbia is going to come to a screeching halt in Westlake Village on Thursday night as all eyes focus on the Marmonte League football showdown between Oaks Christian (3-1, 3-0) and host Westlake (4-0, 3-0). If the matchup is anywhere close to what happened the last time these two neighborhood rivals played, Westlake Coach Jim Benkert will get a few more gray hairs and Oaks Christian Coach Bill Redell will get even balder. Oaks Christian defeated Westlake, 29-28, in the Northern Division championship game when a 41-yard field-goal try by Alex Ball hit the right goal post with one second left.

Ventura St. Bonaventure mounted a furious second-half rally, but the Seraphs still had 99 yards left to march before they could steal a fourth-quarter lead from Westlake Village Oaks Christian on Friday. Then, because of an apparent power failure, the lights at Oaks Christian's field went out. When they finally came back on and play resumed after a 22-minute delay, St. Bonaventure's first play ended up being a turning point in its 36-24 loss in the Marmonte League showdown.

Friday's top games Bellflower St. John Bosco (3-0) vs. Los Angeles Loyola (3-0) at L.A. Valley College, 7 p.m. — Two years ago, St. John Bosco and Loyola replaced their head coaches with Jason Negro and Mike Christensen, respectively, and now both square off hoping to convince the alumni that their programs are headed in the right direction. And they are. St. John Bosco is loaded with outstanding skill-position players, led by receivers Bryce Treggs and Dalis Bruce. Loyola has found a new running back in junior Wyatt Bradford, along with a stingy defense led by cornerbacks Chaz Anderson and Cameron Walker that has given up only 21 points in three games.

At a time when public schools are battling for relevancy in high school sports, there are always those special moments when a bunch of neighborhood kids get together and play their hearts out in a game that goes down to the final second with victory or defeat decided by a simple act of courage. It happened Friday night in a Marmonte League opener between Moorpark and Thousand Oaks. Kicker Jamie Sutcliffe, who had missed three field goals in the game, boomed a 40-yard field goal as time expired, giving Thousand Oaks a 27-24 victory and setting off a delirious victory celebration.