ALL OVER THE FIELD AGOURA RELIES ON LEPISTO'S VERSATILITY.

Byline: Chris Cocoles Staff Writer

AGOURA HILLS - The younger brother remembered all those Friday nights watching his idol catching, kicking and even holding footballs when not kicking them.

Now it's Braden Lepisto's turn to mimic sibling Garrett's extensive playing time that could satisfy two if not three players at Agoura High.

``He was always out on the field trying to do everything he could,'' Braden said of Garrett, a 1999 Agoura graduate who walked on at UCLA and spent two seasons on the Bruins bench. But as the holder on field goals and extra points and a backup receiver, Garrett went on scholarship this fall.

``It's the same for me. I just like being out there. I can't stand being on the sideline watching people do what I think I can do just as well.''

So Lepisto approached coach Charlie Wegher early this season, when the junior was already starting at wide receiver and safety. He wanted to return kickoffs and punts. After he burned Westlake and Thousand Oaks with long gains on kickoffs, opponents make it a point to avoid Lepisto when kicking the ball.

Fast and an elusive runner, he's been able to stay fresh playing both ways as a wide receiver and safety. Two weeks ago against Royal of Simi Valley was the first game he felt physically worn out at the end. But a culprit might have been running around so much on a rain-ravaged field that sank in three inches of mud.

He's scored 92 total points on eight touchdowns, 32 PATs and four field goals.

``I knew I wanted to do punt return and kickoff return. Because I think that would benefit our team the most,'' he said. ``So I asked every time if something messed up, `Could I get out there and try it?' And they just let me do it and it worked out.''

When incumbent place-kicker Rob Kaufman struggled early in the season, Lepisto was inserted into that spot in the Westlake game. He finally missed his first attempt, on an extra point that might have been partially blocked, five weeks later against Royal. He didn't miss any of four field-goal tries in that span for Agoura, which plays at Redondo on Friday in a Southern Section Division IV playoff opener.

Kaufman has been bothered by a toe injury, so in recent games add kicking off to Lepisto's lengthy list of things to do. Wegher has to do a double-take sometimes when Garrett ... er, Braden Lepisto takes the field.

``Garrett had a great aptitude for the game and so does Brady. They're just playmakers. They do whatever we asked them,'' Wegher said. ``He wants the ball, and there's nothing wrong with that. He knows his role, and I could tell he'd like to be getting the ball every play but he's good about understanding that he can't be. That can become a distraction, guys that want the ball all the time.''

Lepisto considers good hands his best attribute as the Chargers' second-leading receiver with almost 700 yards. But they have plenty of offensive talent around him: quarterback Dustin Croick, receivers Kaufman and Bryan Huston and running back Mike Coons.

Croick, a year older than Lepisto, also remembers coming out as a middle-schooler to see Garrett thrive at multiple positions. He too sees plenty of similarities, though Braden's emergence over the past two seasons has surprised Agoura's quarterback.

``I'm pretty much speechless about him. He came in as this little, skinny freshman who turned into a huge football player. ... It's like seeing the same person. Brady makes just as many plays as Garrett did when he was here,'' Croick said.

``It's all about speed and he's quick off the ball. It's good to have a kid like him that breaks off routes and you know exactly what he's going to do. We joke around that we're reading the same book and on the same page.''

Braden and his family - dad Victor Lepisto was a Bruins defensive end and team captain in 1967 - never miss a UCLA home game.

Wegher said Braden is more advanced as an Agoura junior than where Garrett was at that point. So earning a scholarship right away is realistic. And even if that doesn't happen, Garrett's climb from little- used walk-on to scholarship contributor is inspiring.

``When he got the scholarship, everyone realized how much hard work he put in to get that,'' Braden said. ``I want to be better than that so I don't have to go through all that.''

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Receiving, kick returning and kicking are just some of Braden Lepisto's duties for Agoura High.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News