Royal Effort by Fien Falls Just Short of Thousand Oaks

Royal High traditionally doesn’t win games like the one played Friday night against Thousand Oaks at Simi Valley High.

They are, after all, the Highlanders. First in your hearts, somewhere near dead last in the Marmonte League standings.

But take a look at young Ryan Fien for a glimpse into a bright Royal future. That’s Fien, pronounced like you would phenom.

The guy’s a 6-foot-2 transfer, a sophomore, and a quarterback with loads of talent. So much so that he led Royal to the brink of an upset over Thousand Oaks--Division II’s top-ranked team. The Lancers won, 28-21, but not before surviving a last-minute scare.

There will be more games like this one for Fien, who passed for 218 yards and three touchdowns, and receiver Jeff Creed, who made 11 catches for 139 yards.

And there might be plenty of victories. Not, however, on this night.

“I have never been prouder of a football team that I’ve been associated with,” Royal Coach Gene Uebelhardt said. “We deserved to win. It didn’t happen.”

What prevented it was Scott Barkman’s interception on the Thousand Oaks nine-yard line with 11 seconds left. It killed a 68-yard drive by Fien that could have upset the Lancers.

Barkman seemed to have Fien’s number. His 39-yard interception return for a touchdown with 7:45 left in the third quarter gave Thousand Oaks its first lead, 21-14.

Fien came right back, leading Royal on an 80-yard drive that ended with a 19-yard scoring pass to Tony Liming that tied the score, 21-21, with 4:03 remaining in the third quarter.

The winning score for Thousand Oaks came seven minutes later, when Steve Rudisill banged into the end zone from a yard away for a 28-21 advantage.

Fien, a transfer from Riverside Poly, threw touchdown tosses to Liming and Sean Mitchell in the first half to give the Highlanders a 14-0 margin. The Lancers, however, regrouped in the last seven minutes of the half.

Scott Peterson completed touchdown passes of 13 and six yards to receiver Jim Magallanes. The second--with no time left in the half--came two plays after David Watts blocked a punt with 35 seconds left in the half.