Buena Puts Its Season on the Line

One team has mauled three Marmonte League opponents.

The other has been a meal to three Marmonte teams.

But when Ventura (3-0) meets Buena (0-3) in a Channel League opener Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Ventura, don’t expect a dull game. This long-standing intra-city rivalry often brings about surprises.

Buena upset Ventura, 10-7, last season. Ventura upset Buena the year before. The coaches attribute the unpredictability to the rivalry.

“The intensity of this game is so much more than any other game we play that no other one compares,” Buena Coach Mike Olgy said. “I tell my players, ‘Just remember, you’ll be looking at this score for the rest of your life.’ ”

The rest of Buena’s season could be bleak or bueno, depending on the outcome.

“We need a good effort or our season might go down the tubes,” Olgy said.

Buena has been beaten by Westlake, Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park. Ventura has whipped Westlake, Newbury Park and Simi Valley.

Buena’s best players are linemen, according to Olgy, and the Bulldogs need to control the line of scrimmage to have a chance. Adam Flores, a 6-2, 244-pound senior, anchors a line that includes juniors Peter Thow (6-0, 225) and Mat Biesecker (6-3, 235). All three play offense and defense.

Al Sanderson is Buena’s most dangerous ballcarrier. When the Bulldogs line up in their full-house T-formation, Sanderson is a halfback. He often goes in motion, however, and is a wide receiver by the time the ball is snapped.

“We want to get him the ball,” Olgy said of Sanderson, who also plays defensive back and returns kickoffs and punts.

Ventura also has an all-purpose player in Steve Dailey, a 6-1, 205-pound senior.

A fullback-linebacker-placekicker, he was a one-man wrecking crew last week in a 23-13 win over Westlake. The Dailey news: He rushed for 107 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown, kicked a 23-yard field goal and two point-after touchdowns, and intercepted a pass.

“I was most impressed with the way Dailey hits people at linebacker,” Olgy said. “Sure, he can run and kick, but he’s one of the best linebackers in the county.”

Hueneme at Oxnard, Friday, 7:30 p.m.--Until a couple of weeks ago it appeared Oxnard (2-1) had drawn an easy opponent for its Channel League opener. Hueneme (1-2), after all, was 1-9 last season. But the Vikings played Channel Islands tough before losing, 13-12, two weeks ago and defeated Camarillo, 14-12, last week.

“Hueneme is for real,” Oxnard Coach Jack Davis said. “They weren’t lucky.”

Senior running back David Nunnery, who rushed for 79 yards on 14 carries against Camarillo, leads the Vikings.

After beating Camarillo, 13-7, and Long Beach Poly, 17-7, Oxnard slipped last week, losing to Channel Islands, 31-3. Sophomore quarterback Johnel Turner threw five interceptions against the Raiders and has yet to throw a touchdown pass.

“Don’t worry about Johnel,” Davis said. “He’ll come back strong.”

Certainly, Davis believes in the 15-year-old. In addition to playing quarterback, Turner, who is the team’s leading rusher with 187 yards on 38 carries, plays defensive back and returns kickoffs and punts.

Oxnard will be without David Davis, who suffered a cracked rib last week. Davis, a 6-5, 221-pound senior, played tailback for three games but will be moved to tight end when the rib heals. Sophomore Bryant Taylor will play tailback.

In other Channel League openers Friday night at 7:30, Dos Pueblos visits Rio Mesa and Santa Barbara visits San Marcos. Channel Islands visits Simi Valley in a Marmonte League opener Friday night at 7:30.

In Tri-Valley League openers, Oak Park visits Carpinteria at 7:30 tonight, Moorpark visits Fillmore at 7:30 Friday night and St. Bonaventure visits Bishop Diego at 7:30 Saturday night.

In nonleague games Friday night at 7:30, Nordhoff visits Santa Ynez, St. Joseph visits Santa Paula and Santa Clara visits Paraclete.