Oxnard will face a difficult test in Northern Division opener
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So who’s got the toughest road in this year’s Northern Division playoffs?
Well, it seems to me Pacific View League champion Oxnard has a pretty darn tough postseason path, but I wouldn’t call it a road –- it’s more like a mine field with linebackers hiding in man-eating craters. But Oxnard Coach Mark Beckham knows every playoff game is a test.
‘We figure you’re never going to have an easy playoff game,’ Beckham said. ‘If we weren’t playing them in the first round, we would see them in the second or third round. It doesn’t matter who you play because you’re going to have to eventually play a really good team.’
The Yellowjackets will definitely have their hands full with Valencia, which has proven to be one of the best teams in Southern California. QB Graham Wilbert has passed for 2,435 yards and 23 TDs this season. And if RB Jordan Thompson has the kind 193-yard breakout performance that made him too tough to handle for Canyon last week, this one could be over before it starts. However, don’t necessarily expect that from Thompson against an Oxnard squad that has surrendered only 81 points.
But if there’s one team that knows how to run the ball, it’s Oxnard. Like my colleague Sean Ceglinsky pointed out, the Yellowjackets have four guys fully capable of running the ball down the throat of the Vikings’ defense.
Sam McCowan, Henry Fernandez, Montauge Fuentes and QB Dasmen Stewart each have between 92 and 89 carries and have combined for 2,811 yards and 30 TDs. Stewart has also passed for 1,036 yards and eight TDs with five interceptions.
If Valencia can’t stop these “Four Horsemen,” it could definitely be a difficult night for the Vikings.
A couple other “favored” teams that could be in for a tough first rounder are Westlake and Atascadero. With the record-setting Marcus Sanchez under center, Camarillo could pose a problem for the Warriors if QB Nick Owens and RB Cooper Shockley run into problems.
Pac-7 League co-champion Atascadero will be fine as long as RB Nick Tenhaeff finds ways to crack the Moorpark defense. Of course, we all know the Musketeers are capable of stopping a big-time RB (just ask Chris Brown over at Newbury Park).
For complete playoff pairings, click here or download the entire bracket, here.
-- Austin Knoblauch
