1. St Bonaventure vs 16. Cabrillo
The Seraphs are hungry to prove they belong in the upper-echelon of Southern California football. The jump to the Pac-5 might not be easy for most, but the Seraphs are the No. 1 seed and have beat the likes of Corona Centennial, Oaks Christian and Westlake. St. Bonaventure has struggled in recent years in the semifinals, but I feel this is a team of destiny this time around. Arizona commit Zack Green leads the attack rushing for more than 116 yards per game and 8.9 yards per carry. This brand of smash mouth football will be too much for Cabrillo to withstand.
Highlights and interviews of the Musketeers’ 27-17 playoff victory. Jake Woolley and Grant Rohach talk about the excitement of advancing as their brothers and friends have done in the past.
The Musketeers are preparing for the playoffs with 20 new starters from last season and are battle tested with one of the toughest schedules in the area.
After already having won three Marmonte League games this season after winning just three over the previous seven seasons, visiting Calabasas High was hoping to keep the momentum going Friday against powerhouse St. Bonaventure of Ventura.
But it looks like the Coyotes (3-6, 3-5) will have to continue to take their success in doses, as St. Bonaventure won 57-0 while registering nine sacks in a Marmonte League game at Ventura College, as the Seraphs (7-1, 6-1) have lost just one home game since 1997.
“They showed why they’re so good,” Calabasas coach Larry Edwards said. “We just didn’t match up well. We need to execute better, and there were a few situations where we just weren’t ourselves.”
Calabasas’ Kyle Zion completed 7 of 14 passes for 60 yards, and Brandon Marin entered late in the game and completed 3 of 6 for 57 yards, including a long touchdown that was called back because of a hold. Shane Bick, a top receiver and linebacker, had two catches for 18 yards and a big hit on defense before leaving in the second half because of an injury.
“If we lose Shane for the rest of the season, that would be very tough,” running back Tai Kusakawa said. “He’s a two-way player, so it’s not like we would losing just one starter.”
But give Calabasas credit for fighting until the end, as the Coyotes drove to the St. Bonaventure 5 on their last possession, but could not score.
“We didn’t give up,” Zion said. “We played to the best of our abilities.”
Calabasas was limited to 135 yards, 18 rushing.
The Coyotes have another tough game coming up next week at home against Thousand Oaks and Zion said his team will be ready for the challenge.
“Next week, we need to prepare mentally. We have the depth, we just need to pick it up,” he said.
It’s the Marmonte League game of the week. Oaks Christian (5-2) comes in looking as good as they could have after a 65-0 victory over Simi Valley, while Moorpark (4-3) is hungry for its first win over one of the upper-echelon Marmonte League teams. The Lions are led by QB Richie Harrington and a whole host of excellent receivers. Defensively, Oaks Christian is led by Ronny Camacho who averages a ridiculous 15 tackles per game. You can expect to see him in the backfield blitzing all night. This will not be an easy mission for the Musketeers, who got all they could handle from Royal last week. Oaks averages 36 points a game, so it should be hard for Moorpark to stop them. Moorpark only gives up 19 points a game, however, so they may be up to the task. The Musketeers are led by QB Grant Rohach, who has filled his brother’s shoes admirably completing 70 percent of his passes with pinpoint accuracy. RB Tyler Peterson is the team leader, and not just the team leader, but also the school president. The Musketeers will have to rely on his legs and his counterpart Aaron Stanton to keep this a close contest. This game may be close in the first half, but look for Oaks Christian to take over in the second.
Prediction: Oaks Christian 35 Moorpark 21
David F. Sobieraj, Producer 