AGOURA HIGH LINEMAN PREPARING FOR UNIVERSITY GRIDIRON ACTION.

Byline: Bryan Winchell Special to the Daily News

Keenly recalling the thrill of the Chargers' upset over Westlake in the last game of the football season, Agoura High's Elliot Silvers hopes to enjoy that feeling often at the University of Washington in the fall.

Agoura had struggled through the season, entering the game with just one victory. Westlake was coming off a big win over Simi Valley and was headed to the playoffs.

"I went into the game thinking 'OK, this is my last game of my high school career; just have fun,' " said Silvers, who at 6-foot-7 and 310 pounds dominated opponents as an offensive lineman.

Silvers felt that, with the many talented players on the Westlake roster, the game could turn into a rout. Agoura took a 21-0 halftime lead, however, and held on for a 28-22 win.

Because the feeling of victory was rare during his years at Agoura, Silvers wants to experience it often in college. That's a big reason why he chose Washington.

"They've always had a winning tradition," Silvers said. "I'm kind of sick of being on a losing team."

Because Silvers wanted to go to a Pacific 10 Conference school and because his mother wanted him to go to a strong academic school, he was looking at Washington and California.

He was particularly impressed by the layout of Washington's Seattle campus and the strength of the football program.

"I didn't really want to go to Cal because they don't really have that good of a team and they're switching coaching staffs," Silvers said.

Silvers hasn't been considering his chances of playing college football for long. When he was a freshman at Loyola High, he was a 6-feet-1, 225-pound running back who never played. One year later, he was a 6-feet-4, 280-pound lineman at Agoura.

"I kind of went through a growth spurt," Silvers said. "That's when I realized that I was probably going to play in college because I was getting some publicity."

Agoura coach Charlie Wegher also felt Silvers had fine potential.

"The first time I laid eyes on him I knew he'd be real good," Wegher said. "He was just so much bigger than everyone else."

To prepare for the change to the college game, Silvers will spend most of his spare time working on his endurance and speed.

He sprints 40 yards in 5.4 and bench-presses about 305 pounds. Those numbers are far behind the 4.8 and 465 pounds that current Husky lineman Bob Sapp records.

"I've got to play catch up now," Silvers said. "In high school I was OK because I was bigger than everyone. Now everyone is as big as me."

Another of Washington's attractions was its record of producing 16 National Football League linemen.

Agoura Coach Charlie Wegher thinks that Silvers could become another Todd Steussie, who played for Agoura and now plays for the Minnesota Vikings.

"Elliot definitely has all the tools. All he needs is the opportunity," Wegher said.

Silvers, though, knows that becoming a professional football player is countless hours of hard work away.

"(The NFL) is so far away," Silvers said. "I could be one of those kids that is just nobody. It'd be nice to follow in (Steussie's) footsteps, but I'm not counting on it."

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Photo "I've got to play catch up now. In high school I was OK because I was bigger than everyone. Now everyone is as big as me." Elliot Silvers heading to University of Washington