Seven Is Enough : Nagelmann’s TD Passes Show Up the West All-Stars, 50-41

In a pregame ritual reminiscent of Joe Namath’s antics, Dan Nagelmann stayed up all Friday night for Thousand Oaks High’s grad-night celebration.

Disneyland was great but the way he performed Saturday night in the Ventura County All-Star Game at Larrabee Stadium in Ventura, Nagelmann should have been in Las Vegas playing craps or poker. The East won, 50-41, with Nagelmann cashing in most of the chips.

How is this for a hot hand?

Nagelmann, who will attend Moorpark College in the fall, tossed seven touchdown passes, though they were much too skillfully thrown to call the performance a lucky seven. In the second quarter alone, Nagelmann dealt five sixes. He finished with 26 completions in 38 attempts for 482 yards.

No two of Nagelmann’s quintet of second-quarter touchdown passes were alike.

The 6-0, 170-pound Nagelmann began his barrage of six-point passes with 10:17 left in the quarter when he hit former Thousand Oaks High teammate Mike Trevathan, who had 11 receptions for 205 yards, on a long out pattern to the corner of the end zone. Score: 21-6, West leading.

With 5:05 left, Nagelmann hit Sean Grady of Newbury Park, who had six catches for 161 yards, with an 80-yard scoring bomb down the left sideline. Tippy Wilcox hauled in a PAT pass from Nagelmann. Score: 21-14, West leading.

With 1:50 left, Nagelmann found Grady down the right sideline for a 31-yard touchdown. Score: 21-21.

After Wally Sweeterman of Oak Park recovered an onside kick for the East, Nagelmann again hit Trevathan from 17 yards out with 1:20 left. Score: 28-21, East leading.

After Jim Gaz of Newbury Park returned an interception 26 yards, Nagelmann hit Grady, who made a twisting catch at the West two-yard line with 15 seconds left. Two plays later, Nagelmann capped the quarter by hitting Steve Sidler of Westlake in the end zone. Score: 35-21, East.

Carl Hughes bolted 19 yards for a West score to close the gap to 35-29, but soon after, Nagelmann was at it again, hitting Trevathan (68 yards) and Wilcox (seven yards) for touchdowns.

Former Thousand Oaks’ players swept the game’s awards. Nagelmann was most valuable player, Trevathan was the top offensive player for the East and Ricky Strickland, who had two interceptions, was the top defensive player for the East.

Early on, it appeared the West would use its size advantage to bully the East. Running backs Leonard Lee and Hughes pounded for yardage behind linemen Mike Kildee (6-3, 240) and Sean Peebles (6-0, 215).

The West opened the scoring with 8:35 left in the first quarter on a two-yard pitch reverse from quarterback Jerry Dunlap to wide receiver Colovitto Thomas of Santa Clara.

Dunlap scrambled four yards for the next score, and following a fumbled punt return by Wilcox, Hughes zigzagged 12 yards to put the West ahead, 21-0.

Notes

This was the 13th annual Ventura County All-Star Game, which is sponsored by the Lions Club and the Ventura County Coaches Assn. . . . East All-Stars represented these schools: Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Westlake, Royal, Simi Valley, Oak Park, Moorpark, Santa Paula and Fillmore. West All-Stars represented these schools: Oxnard, Ventura, Buena, Santa Clara, Rio Mesa, Hueneme, Channel Islands, St. Bonaventure and Nordhoff. . . . The West leads the series, 6-5-2. Last year’s game ended in a 7-7 tie. . . . Running backs M.J. Nelson of Simi Valley and Gary Wellman of Westlake were selected to play in the Shrine Game at the Rose Bowl on Aug. 2, making them ineligible for the Ventura County game. Nelson and Wellman, both of whom were all-county, would have played for the East. . . . KTIE-TV is broadcasting the game today at 3 p.m. . . . The game concluded the high school careers of all the players, including those of running backs Willie Gutierrez and Oscar Love of Moorpark High. As juniors, they led Moorpark to its first playoff berth in the history of the school’s football program, which began in 1924. Moorpark was 5-4-1 in 1984, and although the Musketeers fell to 4-6 last season, they again made the Desert Mountain Conference playoffs.