Fall Notebook : Only Replays of This Kick Are in Conversation

There wouldn’t be any arguments as to who won the big game if only high school football officials had instant replay to verify their decisions.

The 25th meeting between cross-town rivals Buena and Ventura climaxed with Cougar kicker Mike Flores missing a 28-yard field-goal attempt with 34 seconds to play, allowing the Bulldogs to sneak away with a 14-12 victory.

But did Buena really deserve the win? Did Flores really miss the kick?

Even fans and coaches who didn’t attend the game are talking about it.

“The scuttlebutt around town is that he made the field goal,” St. Bonaventure Coach Damian Wilkerson said. “I wasn’t there so I really don’t know.”

But Buena Coach Rick Scott isn’t about to second-guess the officials, who said the kick sailed wide to the left.

“I’ve heard everything,” Scott said. “They say if the poles were extended higher it would have hit one of the poles. It was close, but not that close.”

Back to old tricks: Scott always saves 1 or 2 surprises for a big game. And he used 2 of his favorites against Ventura.

The Bulldogs used a no-huddle offense during their first possession and scored on a 15-yard pass from quarterback Jason Isaacs to Jim Collins.

“I think we caught them a little off-balance by not having any huddles,” Scott said. “Jason called the touchdown play at the line of scrimmage. We made an adjustment to their coverage and we executed.”

The second touchdown came as a result of a play Scott ran against Ventura when he was an assistant coach at Newbury Park.

“It was darn near 10 years ago that we ran a double pass against Ventura and scored a touchdown,” Scott said. “We were throwing the hitch early in the game and they were reacting to it pretty well.”

So, Scott added a hitch to his hitch. Isaacs threw a pass to Ty Hewitt who in turn threw to Collins to complete a 52-yard scoring play.

“They had all the defensive backs in the world trying to tackle Hewitt. Collins was standing there alone with no one within 30 yards of him,” Scott said.

Priedkalns recovering: Erik Priedkalns, the Westlake football player who underwent emergency surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain after Friday night’s game, is listed in serious condition at Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, a hospital spokesman said Tuesday.

Priedkalns, a senior running back, collapsed in the second quarter against Newbury Park and was taken to the hospital by paramedics.

“The big danger is swelling in the brain after an operation like this,” said Westlake Coach George Contreras, who spoke with Priedkalns’ parents Monday, “but the crucial time is in the first 72 hours.”

Downhill slide: After having it’s 17-game winning streak snapped by Santa Ynez, Carpinteria lost to Santa Clara, 28-7, marking the first time it has lost 2 consecutive games since 1983.

Santa Clara Coach Steve Dann holds a 3-0 record against the Warriors. It was the first meeting between the schools in 3 years. Santa Clara dedicated the game to assistant coach Larry Lawrence, who played for Carpinteria in 1958.

Football miscellany: Santa Paula’s Rick Carpenter became the first quarterback in Ventura County to throw for more than 1,000 yards this season. Carpenter has passed for 1,197 yards and 11 touchdowns. . . . Oxnard’s Johnel Turner had his second game with 200 or more yards rushing. He had 209 yards and 3 touchdowns in 21 carries. . . . Hueneme quarterback Tony Perez completed 18 of 31 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown in his first start and receiver Carlos Cardenas caught 8 passes for 99 yards to break his week-old school record for receptions in a game. Hueneme’s Eric Suwyn kicked a school-record 35-yard field goal. . . . Steve Blundell of Nordhoff has punted 12 times for 574 yards and a 47.8 average.