OAKS CHRISTIAN ROLLS OVER VENICE NATIONAL TV AUDIENCE SEES LIONS WIN OAKS CHRISTIAN 47, VENICE 17.

Byline: RAMONA SHELBURNE Staff Writer

VENICE -- And for an encore ...

How about a blowout of one of the best teams in the City Section?

Or 226 yards and three touchdowns rushing from Marc Tyler?

Maybe you prefer Anthony Gildon's two first-half interceptions?

To be fair, after last week's drubbing of St. Bonaventure, there wasn't much Oaks Christian of Westlake Village could do to top that performance in Thursday night's 47-17 victory against Venice.

It will probably be another 10 years before a high school game generates as much hoopla as last week's game between the two nationally ranked teams.

But Venice brought in some impressive credentials of its own -- an upset of Division I champion Loyola 39-14 in Week 1-- and ESPN2 brought its cameras and a national feed, so there was still plenty to play for.

Once again, Oaks Christian didn't disappoint.

The Lions (4-0) rushed to a 28-3 halftime lead as Tyler scored on runs of 43, 1 and 7yards. In the second half, he added a 30-yard touchdown reception from Jimmy Clausen, who finished 19 of 35 for 289 yards and three touchdowns.

``They're the real deal,'' Venice coach Angelo Gasca said. ``I've known the Clausen family for a long time. I've worked with all the boys. And since we couldn't get one of them on our team, the next best thing was to play them.''

In the second half, Venice nearly kept up with Oaks Christian.

Junior running back Curtis McNeal even stole the spotlight with a 93- yard kickoff return near the end of the third quarter, scoring Venice's first touchdown.

``They were fast, they hit hard, they were tough. They fought the whole game,'' Tyler said. ``But we wanted to show the whole country we're the real deal. ''

With their critics silenced and their two nationally televised games finished, the only question is left whether there's anything more Oaks Christian can do to improve its standing in the national polls.

``The polls are going to do what they want to do,'' Clausen said. ``We just have to keep working hard week in and week out and if we're No. 1 at the end of the year, that's what we'll be.''

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