Marmonte League Teams Dominate the Top 10

After his team’s 47-21 thrashing of Santa Monica two weeks ago, Westlake High football Coach George Contreras was expansive.

“It’s a great win for the school, a great win for the area and a great win for the Marmonte League,” Contreras said. “This proves we can play with those types of teams.”

Santa Monica then was ranked No. 3 in the Southern Section’s Coastal Conference. The margin and ease of Westlake’s victory proved that Marmonte League teams should not be regarded lightly.

In fact, it would not be surprising if a Marmonte League team captured the Coastal Conference championship this season.

It happened last year, when undefeated Camarillo defeated Ventura, 16-14, at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

While Camarillo (0-3 in league, 1-6 overall) is nowhere to be found among the Marmonte powers this season, four teams from the league punctuate The Times’ Valley Top 10 this week: Simi Valley, Westlake, Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park.

Simi Valley, ranked fourth, leads the Marmonte with a 3-0 record. The Pioneers take on seventh-ranked Thousand Oaks on Friday in a key game. Thousand Oaks is 2-1 in league, its only loss coming last week to Channel Islands.

Channel Islands is 3-1 in the league and on Friday faces 3-1 Westlake. The Warriors are The Times’ No. 5 team in the Valley.

Newbury Park, rated ninth, is 2-2 in league and 4-3 overall. But the Panthers’ losses in league have come at the hands of Simi Valley, 10-7, and Thousand Oaks, 15-14.

Newbury Park is also the only Marmonte League team to beat Channel Islands.

The Valley 4-A League of the City Section also makes a strong showing in the Top 10. Granada Hills, which is 6-0, is the No. 2 team, while San Fernando, 4-2, is No. 3.

The No. 1 team continues to be Canyon. The Cowboys are 7-0 this season and have won 31 straight games.

Canyon rolled up 357 yards total offense in a 42-0 win over Saugus last Friday night. Tailback Lance Cross ran for three touchdowns as the Cowboys rushed for 209 yards to improve their Golden League record to 2-0.

Canyon, which plays host to Burroughs Ridgecrest (5-1-1) on Friday, has outscored opponents, 174-26. The Saugus shutout was the Cowboys’ fourth this season.

The Valley Top 10

Selected by sportswriters of The Times

Rk Last Wk Team League Record 1 1 Canyon Golden 7-0-0 2 2 Granada Hills Valley 4-A 6-0-0 3 5 San Fernando Valley 4-A 4-2-0 4 6 Simi Valley Marmonte 6-1-0 5 7 Westlake Marmonte 5-2-0 6 3 Alemany Del Rey 6-1-0 7 4 Thousand Oaks Marmonte 4-3-0 8 8 Canoga Park Sunset 5-1-0 9 10 Newbury Park Marmonte 4-3-0 10 NR Rio Mesa Channel 5-1-1