Warriors win league opener

With four teams ranked among the top 25 high school football teams in Southern California by The Times, the 10-team Marmonte League figures to offer a weekly dose of competitive games.

There’s one big problem, though, for nine of the teams. They have to find a way to beat Westlake Village Westlake, which went 14-0 last season and looks as strong, if not stronger, this season.

On Thursday night, the No. 2-ranked Warriors got a 52-yard interception return for a touchdown by sophomore Dashon Hunt, a 50-yard touchdown reception by Tre’Shon Wilson and two touchdown runs from Tavior Mowry to defeat No. 17 Thousand Oaks, 31-3, in a Marmonte League opener before a packed crowd at Westlake.

And what must be truly scary for Westlake opponents is that the Warriors showed off a new standout in Hunt, a defensive back who played on the freshman team most of last season and had two of his team’s three interceptions in his first varsity start.

Thousand Oaks (1-1) had the correct strategy early on. The Lancers wanted to control the ball and the clock to keep Westlake’s big-play offense off the field. Thousand Oaks used up more than eight minutes on its opening drive but had to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Jamie Sutcliffe.

Westlake (2-0) struck quickly. On the second offensive play, quarterback Nick Isham pitched the ball to backup quarterback Justin Moore, who fired a 50-yard touchdown strike to Wilson. After that, the Lancers never seemed to recover.

Mowry added touchdown runs of 12 and three yards. Westlake led, 21-3, at halftime. Isham was 13 for 20 for 163 yards. Mowry gained 93 yards in 13 carries.

Westlake still faces major Marmonte League tests ahead against neighborhood rival Oaks Christian and Ventura St. Bonaventure.

In another Marmonte opener, Newbury Park quarterback Jake Geringer passed for 475 yards and four touchdowns in a 31-30 loss to Moorpark.

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

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