Potent Westlake Faces Big Test Against Oxnard

Westlake High will try to negate Oxnard’s running attack with its potent passing game when the teams meet at 7:30 tonight in a nonleague football game at at Thousand Oaks High.

Westlake (1-0), which gained 323 yards in a 41-20 win over Buena on Friday, is led by senior quarterback Todd Preston, who completed 10 of 21 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns.

Preston, a three-year starter who has thrown for 3,334 yards in his high school career, is aided by a talented group of skill players that includes receivers Erik Holcomb (four receptions for 103 yards) and Seamus Gibbons (three for 56 yards). Rueben Allen complemented the passing attack with 120 rushing yards in 13 carries.

Oxnard (1-0) relies on a large offensive line that paves the way for tailback Kenyon Lewis, who rushed for 116 yards in 19 carries in a 21-15 win over Camarillo last week. Quarterback Larry Bumpus completed six of 15 for 198 yards and capped a 97-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run with 51 seconds left.

“They’re big and Lewis is a very good runner,” Westlake Coach Jim Benkert said. “It will be a very good test for us.”

In another nonleague game, La Canada will visit Glendale at 7:30 p.m. The teams opened the season last week with wins but in vastly different fashion.

Glendale, behind Pathon Rucker’s 191 rushing yards, beat Alhambra, 36-13. La Canada, however, needed a one-yard plunge by Chris Mozilo in the fourth quarter and an interception from Vahram Mossaedi in the final minute to seal a 10-7 win over Crescenta Valley.