Rangers look to future after 31-3 trouncing
by Jesse Phelps

The red zone was a dangerous place to be for Nordhoff's varsity football team Saturday night in Westlake Village. The Rangers consistently drove the ball inside the 20-yard line against Oaks Christian (8-1, 4-1), in a game postponed one day due to Ojai's early weekend rain squall. However, aside from a 22-yard Greg Cresto field goal to open the game's scoring, they were unable to capitalize, losing 31-3.
A respectable cheering contingent traveled with the team for what was supposed to be Nordhoff's final home game of the year and senior parent night. But none of it was enough to help a squad decimated by injury and struggling to find its rhythm when faced with an opportunity to score.
A swarming Oaks Christian defense, led by defensive end Kyle McClure, recorded several key sacks and quarterback hurries when Nordhoff (3-6, 2-4) pressed toward the end zone. Quarterbacks Andy Bowman and Ryan Whitcomb were a combined five of 15 passing on the night.
The two constantly had to scramble out of danger and tended to overthrow receivers slowed by the still-wet conditions.
To top it off, Nordhoff's leading rusher Will Strong was unable to carry his usual load on offense, though he did contribute 12 tackles from his linebacker position on defense. "He'd had a bad thigh bruise all week," explained Nordhoff head coach Cliff Farrar. "He didn't practice and the extra day of rest actually made it (possible) for him to play. If we'd had to play yesterday, he wouldn't have been able to play."
Marty Vogel carried the ball 18 times in Strong's absence, gaining 112 yards for an impressive per-carry average of 6.2 yards.
Josh Catlett added 75 yards on 12 carries to pace a Ranger rushing attack that gained 192 yards on the ground for the game. But no one could find the end zone.
"The running backs, the offensive line played great," said a somewhat frustrated Farrar. "The offense moved the ball until we got to the 10, the five. How many times did we give up the ball in the red zone the last three weeks?"
Nordhoff dominated in terms of time of possession, a deceiving stat on this night due to Oaks Christian's quick-strike passing game, which piled up yards using very little clock.
Nordhoff travels south this week to Downey, to take on Warren in the final regular season game for 2002. Oddly enough, Nordhoff needs help from its arch-rival this weekend to salvage a playoff berth.
If Santa Paula bests Fillmore, the Rangers are in.

© 2002 The Ojai Valley News

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