Saturday prep football roundup: Oak Park, St. Bonaventure, Oaks Christian, Santa Paula win
The Oak Park High football team has positioned itself for a Canyon League showdown.
Rich Russillo threw for 208 yards and a pair of scores and Jake Friedman caught the game-winning touchdown with a minute left as Oak Park scratched by host Thousand Oaks, 21-17, on Saturday night.
Oak Park moves to 2-1 in league (2-2 overall) and will take on host Simi Valley (3-0, 3-1) on Friday night for the league championship.
"We're excited," said Oak Park coach Casey Webb. "We showed some grit, which I'm really proud of. We haven't been great at closing out games, and we were able to do that in this game."
Russillo completed 18 of 34 passes, Alex Jones grabbed nine receptions for 117 yards and one touchdown and Friedman caught four passes for 42 yards. Friedman also piled up 17 tackles on defense.
More:High school football scores from Week 4 of the spring season
More:Oxnard finds winning formula against Buena ahead of Pacific View League finale
More:Pacifica edges Rio Mesa in overtime to stretch winning streak to 13
More:Simi Valley closes in on outright Canyon League title with dominating win
Max Romanov finished with 13 tackles and one sack and Max Guidino had nine tackles.
Thousand Oaks countered by piling up 349 rushing yards, including a workhorse performance from Matt Garcia. The senior rushed for 224 yards on 37 carries.
"We had our chances," said Thousand Oaks coach Evan Yabu. "We missed on a couple fourth-and-1 opportunities. The kids continue to fight."
Brady Sparks scored on a 61-yard pass reception from Charlie Spencer.
Thousand Oaks, 1-2 in league and 2-2 overall, will play at Royal on Friday night.
ST BONAVENTURE 24, CAMARILLO 14
The resiliency St. Bonaventure has shown over the past month materialized again on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Camarillo.
Manny Rosales completed 16 of 21 passes for 235 yards for two touchdowns, Justin Cantu ran for 124 yards and a game-clinching score on 16 carries and the defense pitched a shutout for the final three quarters as the Seraphs won their third straight.
“We knew it was going to be a battle,” St. Bonaventure coach Joey Goyeneche said. “They jumped on us.”
Camarillo twice took the lead in the first quarter.
Brody Meyer opened the scoring with a 32-yard scoring strike down to Taj Flaaten the right sideline.
After the Seraphs tied the game on Rosales’ 45-yard touchdown pass to Luke Carfaro, Camarillo again jumped ahead 14-7 on a 20-yard Meyer touchdown pass to Jack Maulhardt.
“We had a hard time moving the ball,” Camarillo coach Jack Willard said. “They turned the ball over early and gave us a couple short fields we took advantage of.”
Leilani Armenta’s 29-yard field goal and Rosales’ 12-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Joaquin Johnson gave St. Bonaventure a 17-14 halftime lead.
Johnson caught eight passes for 113 yards and a score. Carfaro caught four passes for 88 yards and a score.
“He’s an up and comer,” Goyeneche said of Johnson. “I think he’s going to be the best receiver in the county by the time he’s a senior.”
The defenses controlled the second half until Justin Cantu broke loose with a 63-yard touchdown sprint early in the fourth quarter.
Meyer completed 16 of 29 passes for 160 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Flaaten caught five passes for 116 yards and a score.
"He’s a very good athlete," Willard said. "We’re trying to figure out ways to get him the ball."
St. Bonaventure wraps up its season at Moorpark on Friday. Camarillo (2-2) will host Agoura in its finale next Saturday.
SANTA PAULA 48, CARPINTERIA 7
In a season impacted by COVID-19, Santa Paula has shown how well it can play with a full week of preparation.
Hector Zuniga completed 14 of 15 passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns and John Tellez ran for 122 yards and three scores on 13 carries as the host Cardinals improved to 2-2 with a rout Saturday afternoon.
After opening its season 0-2 on short weeks, due to a COVID-19 false positive and a game scheduled during a bye week, Santa Paula is now 2-0 with a full week of preparation.
Senior receiver Duke Solis caught five passes for 115 yards and a touchdown and senior receiver Jovon Grandison caught four passes for 102 yards and a touchdown for Santa Paula.
“We took some steps forward,” Santa Paula coach Mike Montoya said.
Santa Paula will host Hueneme Friday night in its season finale.
OAKS CHRISTIAN 69, CALABASAS 0
The Lions are playing so well that head coach Charles Collins wish it wasn't about to end.
"Wish we had a full season of play to really grow, but we've grown up fast indeed," he said.
Carson Schwesinger had three interceptions and a touchdown reception, Jayshaun Todd grabbed two touchdown catches and Jalen Lewis returned the opening kickoff 70 yards for a score as Oaks Christian routed its Marmonte League rival.
Quarterbacks Cole Tannenbaum and Amari Powell each threw a pair of touchdown passes and the defense posted seven sacks, including four by Sterling Lane. Nick Bonderzek returned a fumble recovery 30 yards for a score.
Oaks Christian is 4-1 overall, 2-0 in league, and its looking for an opponent this week to replace Grace Brethren. Calabasas is 2-2 overall, 1-0 in league, and will play at Westlake on Saturday night.