Oaks Christian

Marmonte League principals voted 6-4 Tuesday to split the 10-team high school football league into two five-team divisions and create a conference championship game at the end of the season. The decision, effective in the fall of 2012, will give each school five nonleague games and four league games. The 10th game will pit the two first-place teams against each other, the two second-place teams and so on. It was an emotional issue because schools that felt overwhelmed last season fought to get rid of the 10-team format that allowed only one nonleague game and resulted in numerous routs when the top teams played the bottom-half teams.

The Times' high school boys' basketball rankings (previous ranking) 1. Long Beach Poly, SS-1AA; 5-0, at Santa Maria St. Joseph tournament vs. Corona Roosevelt, Monday (1) 2. Taft, City I; 7-0, San Luis Obispo Mission Prep tournament vs. TBA, Monday (2) 3. Mater Dei, SS-1AA; 7-0, Fort Myers (Fla.) City of Palms Classic vs. Arden (N.C.) Christ School, Monday (3) 4. Etiwanda, SS-1AA; 10-0, Oaks Christian tournament vs. La Jolla Country Day, Dec. 27 (4) 5. Corona Centennial, SS-1AA; 7-2, Torrey Pines tournament vs. TBA, Dec. 27 (5)

Oysters and seared ahi tuna. A 33-ounce chef's-cut rib eye and Chilean sea bass. Creamy spinach and a one-pound baked potato. Chocolate-covered strawberries and chocolate sin cake. Those are just some of the tasty options the Westlake Village Oaks Christian offensive line will be able to contemplate after fulfilling a challenge from their quarterback, Richie Harrington , Friday during a 29-28 victory over Westlake in the Northern Division championship game. "I told them if I didn't get sacked, I'd take them to Mastro's," Harrington said.

Displaying a gunslinger mentality, quarterback Richie Harrington led Westlake Village Oaks Christian to a stunning 29-28 victory over Westlake Village Westlake in a Northern Division championship game Friday night that will be long remembered as a high school football classic. A 41-yard field-goal attempt by Alex Ball with one second left hit the right upright and was no good, enabling the Lions (12-2) to come away with a championship few thought was possible back in October, when Westlake routed the Lions, 31-12.

Clay Matthews' hair is so neat and well kept that he could appear in a shampoo commercial at the mature age of 54. The problem is shampoo companies want his son, Clay III , a former Agoura High linebacker who leads the NFL in sacks with 9 1/2 for the Green Bay Packers and has grown his blond hair so long that it rests on his shoulders. There are Packers fans wearing T-shirts that read, "Fear the hair. " And there's another Matthews son, Casey , angling for his own shampoo contract with long hair playing linebacker for Oregon.

The football career of Westlake Village Oaks Christian quarterback Trevor Gretzky might be over. Gretzky, who hasn't played since the third game of the season against Calabasas because of a partially torn labrum in his throwing shoulder, continues to have pain, Coach Bill Redell said. "I'm beginning to think he won't come back," Redell said. "The shoulder is not healing as fast as anticipated. " Gretzky is also a top baseball player who has committed to San Diego State, so getting him healthy for the baseball season is important.

Friday's top high school football games: No. 23 Encino Crespi (5-1) at No. 8 La Puente Bishop Amat (6-0), 7 p.m. ? Crespi has been the odd team out of the playoffs from the Serra League the last two years, but the Celts have hung tough with Bishop Amat. In 2008, Crespi lost by one point to the Lancers, and last year the Celts handed the Serra League champions their only league defeat. Crespi has reeled off five consecutive victories since a season-opening loss to Compton Dominguez, with quarterback Kenny Stenhouse passing for 364 yards and a school-record six touchdowns last week during a 53-47 victory over Woodland Hills Taft.

Westlake Coach Jim Benkert spent three sleepless nights wondering whether his team was ready. He said that usually doesn't happen before games, but then the Warriors' Marmonte League showdown against Oaks Christian on Friday night wasn't your usual high school football game. It was the first meeting between the two schools that are separated by less than a mile, a matchup of a head coach (Oaks Christian's Bill Redell ) versus his former assistant (Benkert), and a sold-out crowd of more than 6,000 was expected.

The high school football rivalry between Westlake and Oaks Christian existed only in distance Ã?Â?Ã?Â? about a mile separates their campuses Ã?Â?Ã?Â? before Friday night. Then, before a nationally televised audience and a sold-out crowd of more than 6,000, the two teams met for the first time in 11 years, a move orchestrated when Oaks Christian was placed in the Marmonte League for football. But Westlake, which so often conceded territorial spotlight to the perennial power Lions, came in as the favorite, ranked No. 2 in the Southland by The Times, and the Warriors left as 31-12 victors.

The front page of The Times' sports section on Nov. 20, 1963, carried a story about an athlete described as "one of the vanishing breed of football triple threats. " Accompanying the article were photos of Bill Redell passing, kicking and running for Occidental College. These days, Redell is still in football, and he's still a triple threat. As coach of Westlake Village Oaks Christian, he has used humor, communication skills and life experiences to achieve long-lasting success in both his personal and professional lives.