BIG LINE MAY OVERCOME YOUTH FOR COYOTES.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

Starting the season with a sophomore quarterback and no returnees at running back or receiver could easily spell doom for a football offense. But that won't necessarily be the case for Calabasas High this season, thanks to a large and experienced offensive line.

The line, anchored by 6-foot-7, 265-pound senior tackle Kent Sherman, will be counted on to protect sophomore quarterback Justin Fenchel, who started for the junior varsity team last season.

``Definitely, one issue is youth,'' coach Larry Edwards said. ``But we have a lot of depth at our skill positions, and hopefully the line will carry us a little bit. The offensive line is our major strength.''

The Coyotes' line averages 6-3, 220 pounds, and is also led by senior tackle Ben Kersey, senior center Eric Matheny, senior guard Justin Diemel and junior guard Chris Melancon. Senior Dan Palmeri (6-3, 235) also returns at tight end.

The line will be in charge of running Edwards' ball-control offense, designed to limit the number of mistakes the young team makes with the ball.

Mike Armacost, an All-Frontier League selection at linebacker last season, has been moved back to his natural position of tailback and will handle most of the carries in addition to his defensive responsibilities.

``He's only about 5-11, 185 pounds, but he plays like he's 6-4, 225,'' Edwards said. ``He's a very hard hitter, rare for somebody his size. You're going to have to really wrap him up to tackle him, or he will just run right through you.''

Armacost will be backed up by juniors Sean Flannigan and Mike Turk, both junior varsity players last season.

The ability of the offensive line to protect Fenchel seems to be the key to the Coyotes' success. Calabasas is coming off a second-place finish to Nordhoff in the Frontier League, as the Coyotes finished 9-3-1 and reached the semifinals of the CIF Division II playoffs.

Calabasas travels to Agoura for its season opener Sept. 9. In their two biggest league games, the Coyotes face Nordhoff on the road on Nov. 5 and host St. Bonaventure the following week.

Edwards is already looking ahead to the Nordhoff matchup, after last year's exciting finish. The Coyotes trailed by five late in the fourth quarter but won the game 14-13 on a 20-yard scoring pass from quarterback Dallas Enoch to receiver Matt Bernstein with less than three minutes remaining.

Agoura will provide an early test for the Coyotes, and Fenchel will have to learn quickly, since the sophomore has never played in a varsity game.

``His throwing ability is just getting better and better,'' Edwards said. ``As a sophomore, it's a pretty heavy burden to carry to be a varsity quarterback, but his poise and comfort level with the team is important.''

There may be concerns on offense, but Edwards glows in praise of his defensive unit. The Coyotes will run a 4-4 defense, and each of the four linebackers (seniors Armacost and Doug Marihart and juniors Ben Strull and John Lakatos) are under five seconds in the 40.

``I know it's a cliche, but you just can't coach speed,'' Edwards said. ``When you have speed like that, it gives you a larger margin for error when it comes to defensive mistakes, because we can always compensate.

``We attack a lot of defense, so with our quickness we can be a lot more effective. We have stressed weight lifting this summer, and it helped our offensive line so I'm sure it helped our speed as well.''

Diemel, a 6-2, 215-pound starter at offensive guard, will also anchor the defensive line at tackle, which along with the defensive backfield could suffer from inexperience early in the season.

``In the secondary, we have some good speed, but it's just a lot of juniors back there,'' Edwards said. ``The defensive line is going to be large, but they didn't play together much last season. But I'm pleased with the progress of the line.''