Carp drubbed, Redell says “we don’t belong”

WESTLAKE VILLAGE — Oaks Christian coach Bill Redell does not live on another planet.

He agrees, as does the rest of the prep football world, that beating smaller opponents by 60 points every week serves virtually no purpose for either team.

“We don’t belong in the Tri-Valley League,” he said after Friday’s 56-0 stomping of visiting Carpinteria. “We belong in the Marmonte League… John (Hazelton) is a very fine coach and his kids try hard, but honestly we don’t belong in this league. They need to get us out.”

It was 7-0 after 17 seconds, and it would have been about eight seconds if not for Michael Ramirez’s leaping tackle at the 2-yard line to keep the Lions (7-0, 2-0 TVL) out of the end zone on the opening kickoff.

By the end of the first quarter it was 35-0, and some guy named Montana had thrown for two touchdowns and ran for another. The crowd was quiet on both sides for the rest of the evening, and there was none of the majesty that the lights of Friday night typically invoke.

Stats no longer mattered. Knowing the exact score was irrelevant. It was over before the engines in the parking lot cooled down.

“I wish I could ask Joe Montana if this is what he was expecting,” said Carla Stein, mother of Warrior linebacker and punter Jeremy Stein. “How can you know how good you are if it’s like this every Friday night?”

She was referring to the Hall-of-Fame quarterback’s decision to move from Northern California to L.A. so that his son, Nick, could play for the Lions. Montana is the starter, but that hasn’t amounted to much playing time anyway — he hasn’t taken a second-half snap in four weeks.

Amidst all of the controversy, finger-pointing and CIF shenanigans, there are still football games being played, and Hazelton’s players were able to stay focused on that.

Carpinteria (2-5, 0-2 TVL) players like Ivan Milhollin (62 rushing yards), R.J. Rosborough (10-for-21 passing) and Justin Alvarado (36 rushing, 13 receiving) were still running full-steam ahead on the game’s final drive, even picking up some first downs.

“At halftime, we told our offensive line that they need to get on some bodies. All of our ball-carriers had targets on their chests, so we challenged our guys to protect them,” said Hazelton.

And the most important thing for the 21-man Carpinteria contingent?

No breaks, tears or sprains.

“Just a little cut. Nick Razo had a cut under his eye and went to the hospital for a stitch, but that’s it. I’m very happy about that,” said Hazelton.

The Carpinteria coach said that this year’s Lions team is much better than the 2006 state-title team, and Redell agreed.

“I’ve known Bill for a long time, and when I told him that I think that this year’s team is better than ’06, he said ‘absolutely’,” remarked Hazelton.

Mrs. Stein’s older son, Eric, also played against Oaks Christian as a standout for Carpinteria and now plays at the U.S. Naval Academy. And for a mom sitting through her fourth varsity massacre at the hands of the Lions, it has gotten monotonous.

“It’s like going to see the movie Titanic. You know how it’s going to end,” she said as her son boomed a 47-yard punt. “The CIF has done a disservice to high school football by allowing this.”

Football is something Mrs. Stein knows very well, and she has an interesting theory on how Oaks Christian’s players are affected by the lack of competition once they move on to the college ranks.

“They said one of the reasons why (Notre Dame quarterback) Jimmy Clausen struggled last year was because he held on to the ball too long. Well, it’s probably because when he was here he had enough time to drink a cup of coffee and read the paper before he had to throw,” she said.

She also pointed to ex-Oaks superstar running back Marc Tyler, one of the nation’s top prospects from the ’06 Lions team, is currently sixth on USC’s depth chart.

But that can all be shelved for next year. Carpinteria must move on and focus on a trip to Ojai to face Nordhoff on Friday.

That one might actually be a football game.

OAKS CHRISTIAN 56, CARPINTERIA 0

Carpinteria………..0  0  0  0 — 0

Oaks Christian…35  14  7  0 — 56

SCORING

First Quarter

OC — Jones 2 run (Bierschenk kick), 11:43

OC — Owusu 56 pass from Montana (Bierschenk kick), 10:10

OC — Arrelano blocked punt TD (Bierschenk kick), 8:13

OC — Montana 10 run (Bierschenk kick), 5:41

OC — Jones 35 pass from Montana (Bierschenk kick), 0:24.2

Second Quarter

OC — Judge 10 pass from Montana (Davis kick), 7:35

OC — Jones 7 run (Davis kick)

Third Quarter

OC — Morrison 70 run (Davis kick)