Tanner Wrout won't be sneaking up on the Ventura High football team tonight.

After missing last year's season opener, Rio Mesa High's battering ram of a running back crashed onto the scene last year against Ventura, piling up 254 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns in a 55-41 loss.

"I expect it'll be a little different bit of a game tonight," said Rio Mesa coach Bob Gregorchuk Friday. "Last year, Tanner Wrout was unknown to them. We had a little secret weapon there

"They know who our weapons are now. We don't have that element of surprise."

In his junior debut, Wrout carried 11 times for 157 yards and two touchdowns and caught two passes for 97 yards and two more scores. The 6-foot, 195-pound back went on to rush for 1,151 yards and 10 touchdowns on just 125 carries, an average of 9.21 yards per attempt.

The Cougars may be better prepared tonight for the showdown of unbeaten Channel League and Pacific View League contenders, but that doesn't mean they'll be able to stop him.

"Wrout is something else," said Ventura coach Brad Steward Friday. "He's a phenomenal player. It's going to be hard to contain him."

Wrout had 116 yards and two scores on 14 carries in the Spartans 44-7 win over San Marcos Sept. 9. His backfield partner, Jordan Nunnery, who Steward called "greased" lightning, added 130 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries and a 65-yard punt return.

"That game was over by halftime," said Steward. "This is a really good matchup for this week. I think they are one of the better teams in the Western Division, at least from Ventura County, and we could be as well."

Steward may only be comfortable with Rio Mesa's ground game when his team has the ball.

"We're going to have to have long, sustained drives, hopefully that'll keep their offensive off the field," said Steward. "We're going to have to drive the ball to do it."

The top matchup may be Ventura's young offensive line against Rio Mesa's athletic defense and its aggressive 3-3 stack scheme, which features linebacker Mitchell Haerterich and rover James Turner.

"They're very active with their linebackers blitzing and moving around," said Steward. "A lot will be determined by how we handle that."

Ventura struggled up front at times during its 34-16 win at Pacifica Sept. 2, but showed significant improvement in last week's 38-0 win over Agoura.

"Their O line is coming along," said Gregorchuk. "They showed improvement. They've got two games under their belt, while we have one. They got a whole week better from Week 1 to Week 2 and they'll be another week better tonight."

The Cornerstone Christian boys' baseball team set the county record for consecutive wins on Monday by winning its 29th straight with a 20-4 victory over Pilgrim.
Cornerstone broke Rio Mesa's streak of 28 straight victories, which the Spartans set in 1980-81.

The Rio Mesa High boys' 4x100 relay set a Ventura County record and moved to the top of the national leaderboard Saturday at the Ventura Track and Field Invitational at Larrabee Stadium.

Arroyo Grande scored a last-minute goal to edge the Rio Mesa High girls' water polo team, 7-6, in the CIF-Division IV final today in Irvine. 

Pacific View League champion Rio Mesa and Marmonte League champion Agoura are seeded for the Division IV and Division II girls' water polo playoffs, respectively.

Rio Mesa High clinched the Pacific View League girls¹ water polo championship with a 12-3 victory at home on Thursday over Hueneme.

Jenny Jamison scored four goals for the Spartans. Abby McCardell and
Courtney Walters each had three goals.

Rio Mesa is undefeated in league at 9-0 and is 21-6 overall.

Rio Mesa is seeded No. 2 for the Division VI boys' water polo playoffs.

Northern Division

Buena 27, Thousand Oaks 20: Buena passes big test by Derry Eads in Ventura.
Newbury Park 34, Rio Mesa 6: Newbury Park adjusts well by Joe Curley in Newbury Park.
Pacifica 56, Simi Valley 27: Mondol, Pacifica roll past Simi Valley by Sean Ceglinsky in Oxnard.
Camarillo 49, Agoura 14: Camarillo clicks against Agoura by Jeffrey Dransfeld in Camarillo.
Hueneme 33, Calabasas 0: Hueneme blanks Calabasas by Ted Cotti in Hueneme.
Westlake 42, Saugus 20: Isham powers Westlake over Saugus by Bob Buttitta in Santa Clarita.
Chaminade 33, Royal 14: Chaminade too much for Royal by David Lassen in Los Angeles.

Northwest Division

Santa Paula 23, Golden Valley 13: Santa Paula earns first win by Steve Pratt in Canyon Country.
Morro Bay 28, Oak Park 13: Morro Bay holds off Oak Park by Lance O'Fallon in Oak Park.

Thanks to the Jewish New Year - Rosh Hashanah, which begins tonight at sundown - we get two nights of high school football this week.

Here are the news, notes and highlights from last night's games:

Buena 27, Thousand Oaks 20: It was only a matter of time before Cliff Farrar turned the Buena program into a winner again. But this quick? Wow. In Farrar's second season at the helm, the Bulldogs recorded their biggest win in several years. Buena QB Robert Munoz completed 15 of 19 passes for 218 yards as Buena improved to 2-0 against a Thousand Oaks team that played Valencia down to the wire last week. The Lancers were without the services of RB Richard Minyard.

Camarillo 49, Agoura 14: On the same day the school conducted tryouts for its loudest students, Camarillo gave them plenty to scream about. Ossie Toc - could there be much better of a name? - rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Ryan Molesworth caught three touchdown passes from Jeff Mathews in the route. If you espouse the Kevin Bacon theory, Ventura might be in for a handfull tonight against Moorpark. The Cougars lost to Agoura 12-0 in the opener last week.

Newbury Park 34, Rio Mesa 6: The Panthers scored 34 unanswered points and held Rio Mesa to just 37 yards of total offense in the second half. Newbury Park QB Jake Geringer threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more.

Westlake 42, Saugus 20: Nick Isham knows what perfection feels like. The Westlake QB finished an eye-popping 16 of 16 for 153 yards and four touchdowns. If that wasn't enough, Isham also caught four passes for 27 yards and returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown as the Warriors posted 42 points for the second straight game. Tavior Mowry rushed 13 times for 103 yards. 

Pacifica 56, Simi Valley 27: This game was over by halftime as QB transfer Max Mondol completed 9 of his first 10 passes, including four touchdowns. Mondol finished the game 13 of 15 for 190 yards and his second incompletion of the game didn't come until less than 10 minutes remained in the fourth quarter.

Chaminade 33, Royal 14: Chaminade led 33-0 before Royal finally put together a few scoring drives. Royal QB Zach Collins completed 24 of 43 passes for 270 yards and Connor Wolcott had 11 receptions for 166 yards.

Hueneme 33, Calabasas 0: Sure the Vikings haven't played the toughest schedule, but 3-0 sure feels good after not winning a single game last season. Speaking of that, Calabasas can relate to losing streak. The Coyotes have had a few of their own over the years. Senior RB Trashaun Nixon had a stellar performance for Hueneme, rushing for 269 yards on 16 carries and scoring three touchdowns. Nixon broke off TD runs of 76 and 93 yards in the fourth quarter.

Morro Bay 28, Oak Park 13: The Eagles had to dig deep to find a starting QB last night. Brad Taylor was out with headaches and his backup Connor Hill was out with a hernia. Oak Park turned to WR-turned-QB Dereck Deakin, who completed 3 of 8 passes, including a 66-yard touchdown pass to Aiki Zapati (another classic name for the vault).

Santa Paula 23, Golden Valley 13: Santa Paula registered its first win behind Ivan Ledesma. The senior returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown and went 69 yards on a screen pass thrown by sophomore Kameron Klein for another touchdown. Ledesma finished with five catches for 125 yards. 

 

After dominating play in the first half on the ground, Rio Mesa fell behind midway through the third quarter at Newbury Park because of a turnover and some poor punting.

The Spartans fumbled on third and four from their own 10 yard line. Senior linebacker Drake Exstrom recovered and, three plays later, the Panthers scored on Jake Geringer's 1-yard quarterback sneak.

Kevin Kircher's point after kick gave the Panthers a surprise 7-6 lead with 8:25 left in the third quarter.

Rio Mesa went three and out on its subsequent possession and, following a 9-yard punt, Geringer immediately went down the seam for a 37-yard touchdown pass to Sean Garry for a 14-6 lead. 

Four plays following a 10-yard Rio Mesa punt, Geringer broke free for a 16-yard touchdown run and a 21-6 Newbury Park lead.

Rio Mesa's option offense piled up 16 carries through the first 15 minutes at Newbury Park High. But the Spartans took the lead on their fourth pass of the game.

Quarterback Enrique Thomas, who had piled up 72 yards rushing on four carries, completed his first pass of the season on third and 16 down the left sideline for a 32-yard scoring strike to senior Steven Cristobal.

Rio Mesa leads 6-0 at the half.

We're here for Rio Mesa at Newbury Park. Kickoff is immenent, and so are updates.

Oxnard College men's soccer coach Ross Greaney breaks down Friday night's All-Oxnard CIF final between top-seed Channel Islands and Rio Mesa at Pacifica High, as interviewed on Ventura County Sportsnight Thursday with Danny Page.

Channel Islands and Rio Mesa will play an All-Oxnard CIF soccer final Saturday as the two teams win Tuesday. Meanwhile, the St. Bonaventure boys and Oaks Christian girls were eliminated.

BOYS

Division IV

Channel Islands 1, North Torrance 1  (Channel Islands advances 7-6 after nine rounds of penalty kicks)
Rio Mesa 3, Pacifica 1

Division VII
Rosamond 3, St. Bonaventure 2: Aaron Glover twice set up Derek Kirk for equalizers. Kirk finished with eight goals in four postseason games.

GIRLS

Division V

South Torrance 1, Oaks Christian 0

All game second round.

GIRLS

Division I-A

No. 5 Ventura 56, No. 12 Murrieta Valley 44: Maddie Fahan had 23 points and 12 rebounds. Amy Pupa and Kristen Wilson added 12. Ventura plays at Ayala, the No. 4 seed, in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Division II-AA

No. 2 Buena 42, No. 15 Katella 41: Keani Albanez had 14 points, including the game-winning 8-footer with 32 seconds left. Buena moved on despite shooting 13 of 65 (20 percent) from the field and 10 of 27 (37 percent) from the line.

No. 5 Thousand Oaks 54, No. 12 El Toro 43: Jannesa Martinez had 14 points and six assists. Karina Alofaituli had 12 points. Jenna Bandy had seven points, eight rebounds and four steals. Thousand Oaks (24-4) made 17 of 23 free throws.


Division II-A

No. 6 Newbury Park 69, No. 11 Saugus 53: Doris Park-Sherman had 23 points and 13 rebounds. Sidney Dobner scored 14 points and Jasmine Polk had 13. Newbury Park outscored Saugus 42-30 in the second half.

No. 8 Laguna Hills 59, No. 9 Rio Mesa 52: Julisa Devad scored 13 points, including three 3-pointers. Britni Vargas-Hardy and Stephanie Ramirez each had 11 points and Imani Dixon added 10.

Division III-AA

No. 2 Agoura 64, No. 15 South Hills 42: Kylie Cunningham and Sasha Borenstein each scored 15 points for Agoura (25-3). Cunningham and Borenstein each buried three 3-pointers. Borenstein also grabbed 11 rebounds. Brittany Oster scored 12 points and made six steals. Camille Mahlknecht scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Division IV-A

No. 7 Fillmore 44, No. 10 Chaminade 38: Rebecca Herrera had 20 points, six rebounds, six steals and four assists. With the game tied 38-38 with less than a minute left, Herrera made four straight free throws. Jill Wilber added two free throws with 18 seconds left. Jazmin Galvez had eight points and eight rebounds.

No. 5 Oaks Christian 58, Maranatha 40: Katie Brooks led Oaks Christian (23-1) with 23 points and 10 rebounds. She scored 21 of her points and collected all of her rebounds in the first half. Brianna Barrett scored 14 points and had five steals.

Division V-AA

No. 6 St. Bonaventure 45, No. 9 St. Monica 42: Erica Whitley had 23 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to propel the Seraphs into Wednesday's quarterfinals at Campbell Hall. Monique Roberson added 10 points and eight rebounds.

Division V-A

No. 3 Santa Clara 71, No. 11 Mojave 28: Dajyanah Vines had 21 points and eight rebounds. Sharene Dunham added 13. Cynthia Hernandez and Daija Whittington scored 10. Santa Clara (22-3) outscored Mojave 25-3 in the third quarter. Santa Clara plays at Pasadena Poly on Wednesday.

BOYS

Division IV-A

No. 6 Santa Clara 59, No. 11 Valley Christian 43: Tom Torres scored 16 points. James Wilder had 16 points and nine rebounds. Cierre Wood added 12 points. Santa Clara outscored Valley Christian 19-6 in the fourth quarter. Santa Clara will be on the road against Crespi on Tuesday in the quarterfinals.

All matches first round.


Division I

Newbury Park 1, Los Alamitos 0: Steven Trujillo scored the game¹s only goal in the
77th minute off an assist by Julian Laria. Nick Harrison had a key pass to
set up Laria¹s assist.

Division II

Ventura 3, Palos Verdes 2: Adrew Creightion,James Greider and Able Tadeo scored.

Division IV

No. 1 Channel Islands 5, Burbank 2: Jesus Landeros and David Torres had a goal and an assist apiece.  Miguel Rico, Salvador Mendoza and Josh Vasquez rounded out the scoring.
Rio Mesa 3, Pasadena 1: Jerry Ponce scored in the 16th and 75th minutes and Javier Marquez scored the game winner, off an assist from Dustin Figueroa, in the 60th minute.
North Torrance 3, Oxnard 1: Hugo Rosales scored in the first half off an assist by
Edson Flores. North Torrance scored all of its goals in the second half.

Division VI

Nordhoff 3, Shalhevet 0: Moustafa Ismail scored two goals and Keiko David had
two assists. Bruce Vargas scored a goal and Jorge Reyes had an assist.

Division II

Agoura 25, Bell Gardens 2
Royal 12, Villa Park 8 (OT)
Palos Verdes 23, Newbury Park 12

Division IV

Santa Ynez 10, Pacifica 8
Burbank 18, Oxnard 6
Rio Mesa 6, Temple City 3

Division VI

Elsinore 21, Oaks Christian 4
Malibu 16, Rowland 6

Division I

Thousand Oaks 3, Peninsula 0
San Clemente 2, Buena 1
Trabuco Hills 3, Agoura 2
Mater Dei 1, Ventura 0

Division IV

St. Joseph of Santa Maria 3, Camarillo 0
Santa Ynez 2, Rio Mesa 0

Division V

Oak Park 6, Crossroads 0
Oaks Christian 7, Windward 1
La Reina 2, Campbell Hall 1
South Torrance 1, St. Bonaventure 1 (South advances via shootout, 5-4)

Division VI

Santa Paula 2, Bishop Union 0

The CIF-Southern Section released the playoff pairings for basketball today. Here are just a few highlights from the girls side of things. The first round is scheduled for Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

- Buena is the No. 2 seed in Division II-AA and hosts Glendale - an at-large selection from the Pacific League.

- Agoura is seeded No. 2 in Division III-AA and hosts San Marcos in the first round.

- Ventura is the No. 5 seed in Division I-A and hosts Aliso Niguel - an at-large team from the South Coast League.

- Newbury Park is seeded No. 6 in Division II-A and hosts Glendora - an at-large from the Serra League. Simi Valley and Westlake both received at-large bids in II-A and Calabasas received an at-large bid in IV-AA.

- Thousand Oaks is the No. 5 seed in Division II-AA and hosts Burbank.

- If No. 13 Royal wins on the road against Century in Division II-AA, the Highlanders would likely meet No. 1 Brea Olinda in the second round.

- Pacifica will have its hands full in the very-tough Division I-AA bracket. The Tritons received the No. 11 seed and host Redlands East Valley.

- Rio Mesa received a No. 9 seed and a rematch in Division II-A. The Spartans host Dos Pueblos, which they beat in their own tournament earlier this season.  In another Pacific View-Channel showdown, Camarillo plays at Santa Barbara.

- Oaks Christian is the No. 5 seed in Division IV-A and hosts Louisville. Andre Chevalier should be familiar with Mission League opponents having formerly coached at Reseda Cleveland.

- Fillmore is the No. 7 seed in IV-A and hosts Santa Ynez. The Flashes lost to Santa Ynez three years ago in the second round of the playoffs at Santa Ynez.

- Santa Clara reached the second round without even playing a game. The Saints are the No. 3 seed in V-A and received a bye. They will host the winner of No. 10 Desert-No. 11 Mojave on Saturday.

The Channel Islands and Pacifica High boys' soccer teams improved to 5-1 in Pacific View League play Tuesday afternoon.

Luis Hernandez scored twice, David Torres had a goal and an assist and Miguel Tellez had two assists as the Channel Islands (12-2-3) scored three second-half goals to avenge its only PVL loss of the season, 3-0, over visiting Rio Mesa (8-5-3, 2-4) Tuesday afternoon.

Rogelio Salinas and Raul Yepez scored first-half goals as Pacifica (15-4-1) eased by host Camarillo, 2-0.

Moises Orozco scored twice and Andres Negrette added another as Oxnard (6-3, 4-2) stayed a game back by scoring three times in the final 15 minutes with a 3-2 win over Hueneme, which led 2-0 midway through the second half.