NHS gridders begin
play-off run tonight
By Jesse Phelps

A dynamic regular season saw the tried-and-true Nordhoff football offensive philosophy of run, run, run begin to morph into something resembling a balanced attack, leading to a perfect league record and the No. 1 ranking in CIF Southern Section Division XI.

A stable of tough Ranger running backs and receivers, two strong lines, a maturing quarterback and an aggressive defense look to get the post-season off to a fast start tonight, putting that ranking on the line against unranked LaSalle, which finished No. 3 in the Camino Real League with a 2-8 record.

The Rangers finished with the inverse record, 8-2, with both losses coming to larger schools in tougher divisions. Before a regular season-ending loss to the Arroyo Valley Hawks, the Rangers had not failed to defend their home turf in the 2003 campaign.

A win in this initial game, which starts at 7:30 p.m. at Ojai Valley Community Stadium, would set up a showdown with the winner of a contest between No. 4 Valley Christian of Cerritos (7-3) and unranked San Jacinto (6-3-1).

Nordhoff gained 2,152 yards as a team on the ground this season, powered by senior Josh Catlett (467 yards and seven TDs), junior Will Strong (956 yards and 17 TDs), senior Clark Bigler (350 yards, one TD) and senior Marty Vogel (182 yards, two TDs).

Meanwhile, junior quarterback Ryan Whitcomb found his passing groove, finishing the season with a 60 percent completion rate, and upping that to better than 70 percent over the course of the final four contests.

Defensively, the Rangers are led by the brother tandem of sophomore linebacker Casey Catlett and senior lineman Josh Catlett. Sean Baier and Strong are also playmakers on defense.
Both lines and the locker room are bolstered by the presence of senior leader Micah Reed. Teammates have alluded to the leadership provided by Reed all season long and the team seems closer than most high school units. It could be Nordhoff's year - but the Rangers will need to get off to a fast start against the only team with a losing record they are likely to meet in the postseason.

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

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