EARLY SEASON WOES WESTLAKE HAS TO MOVE BALL.Byline: Chris Cocoles Staff Writer WESTLAKE VILLAGE - This was a sight coach Jim Benkert had rarely seen in his 14-year tenure at Westlake High. His offense gasping for yards; his offense lacking big plays; his offense laboring to move the ball away from its goal line when field position was precious; his offense failing to establish the run or consistently complete consistently complete - [domain theory] boundedly complete. passes; his offense turning over the ball at the worst possible times. ``We had the ball three times in the first quarter,'' Benkert said of last Friday's game against Notre Dame Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam] is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, ``and didn't drive the football. That's unusual for us. ... We've got to get back into traditional Westlake football pretty quick. And that is move the football.'' The Warriors threw for just 132 yards, 28 coming on a gimmick double-pass play (that gain was the longest of the night). They gained just 23 yards on the ground. Obviously, Notre Dame's athletic defense had plenty to do with those atypical atypical /atyp·i·cal/ (-i-k'l) irregular; not conformable to the type; in microbiology, applied specifically to strains of unusual type. a·typ·i·cal adj. Westlake numbers. The Knights controlled both sides of the line of scrimmage line of scrimmage n. pl. lines of scrimmage Football Either of two imaginary lines extending across the field parallel to the goal line at the ends of the ball as it rests prior to being snapped and at which each team lines up for in winning 35-21. But Benkert admitted the offensive struggles weren't unexpected. The receivers haven't run crisp routes that forced quarterback Erik Vose to be more pinpoint with his throws. Talented tailback tail·back n. Football The back on an offensive team who lines up farthest from the line of scrimmage. tailback Noun Brit a queue of traffic stretching back from an obstruction Kenneth Mackins was limited to just three carries playing with a tender shoulder, an injury serious enough to keep the All-Ventura County defensive back from playing any defensive snaps. And most of all, Westlake's young offensive line was at times overwhelmed o·ver·whelm tr.v. o·ver·whelmed, o·ver·whelm·ing, o·ver·whelms 1. To surge over and submerge; engulf: waves overwhelming the rocky shoreline. 2. a. by Notre Dame's aggressive defensive approach and overall speed. ``We need to work harder as a unit and get the kinks out,'' said senior strong side guard Zach Verdin, a returning All-Ventura County selection. ``Notre Dame's defense played very well. We had good (surges) once in a while. The offense just wasn't getting it done. We need to get it going right now.'' In recent years, Westlake's assembly line of skill players sent to Division I-A colleges has included several offensive linemen, most recently Keith Holt, Mark Manning Mark Mann (born 1970) is an American artist known for utilizing visual elements from 1960s and 70s era postcards to form the basis of his photographic art works. The resulting pictures create an uneasy tension between truth and fiction. and Steve Hall. These Warriors have another probable scholarship recipient in Verdin. But he and center Glenn Martin are the only returning starters who had substantial varsity playing time. Strong tackle Jeff Wurts and weak-side tackle Steve Gatena are both up from the junior varsity team For the American rock band, see . In sports, usually at the high school and college levels, members of a team who are not the main players in a competition (such as a football or basketball game) are called junior varsity players. . Weak-side guard Derek Foley is a returning senior but didn't play much last season. Notre Dame created a clever game plan in combating the Warriors' blocking schemes. The Knights compensated for being outweighed on the defensive line by using quickness to get into the backfield and shut down Merrill Mullaly, the Warriors' primary ball carrier, who gained just 34 yards on 19 attempts. ``Physically speaking, we can match up with anybody. They just need playing time,'' Westlake offensive line coach Ray Gerena said. ``Their tackle would slant and our (tackles) just don't recognize it. We still opened seams. The thing that our youngsters have to learn, just because a play is running away from you, there's no time to take a play off and not finish a block. In varsity football, you can't just get in front of a guy and expect the ball to be gone.'' Westlake discovered little, if anything, about itself in a 45-0 Week 1 pasting of overmatched Santa Paula Santa Paula (săn`tə pôl`ə), city (1990 pop. 25,062), Ventura co., S Calif., on the Santa Clara River in a fertile valley that yields citrus fruits, avocados, vegetables, flowers, nursery products, and walnuts; laid out 1875, inc. . Verdin said manhandling the Cardinals worked against the varsity rookies on the offensive line, who didn't block the quality of athletes who dot the remainder of the schedule. The Warriors got a lot more reality out of the Notre Dame game. ``We needed to be humbled. We need to learn,'' Benkert said. ``And this was a good wake-up call.'' Hart, which plays defense as well anyone in the region though gets more praise for what it does on the opposite side of the ball, figures to make its contributions to Westlake's pre-Marmonte League cramming The unauthorized addition of services to your telephone bill such as an 800 number that you never ordered. The charges are usually noted on the bill, but are identified in a cryptic manner and/or are printed in a place that is easy to overlook. See slamming. . After the Indians come to town, Westlake has just five days to prepare for the league opener against hungry Agoura on a Thursday night television game. And when the offensive line, as the Warriors expect, gets moving, the rest of the offense anticipates itself following right behind the convoy convoy Vessels sailing under the protection of an armed escort. Since the 17th century, neutral powers have claimed the right of convoy in wartime, providing warships to escort their merchantmen and keep them secure from search or seizure. . ``Our offensive line is going to take care of it,'' Mullaly said. ``Everything's got to be worked out this week. (Hart's) going to make us a lot better, no matter what the outcome. It's going to improve us a lot.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Westlake High football running back Kenneth Mackins was limited to three carries against Notre Dame because of a tender shoulder. Michael Owen
|
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion