Royal Sacks Westlake, Snyder, 21-0

The tomahawk is in vogue these days and Westlake High’s Warriors looked to get in on the action Friday night when they opened Marmonte League play against Royal.

However, it was Westlake quarterback John Snyder’s scalp that was at risk through much of the night.

The Highlanders ambushed Snyder 13 times for 89 yards in sack yardage and rode off with a 21-0 victory at Thousand Oaks High.

“It was scary,” said Snyder, who barely survived Royal’s ferocious rush and completed only nine of 20 passes for 92 yards. One pass was intercepted.

“We were just into it,” Royal lineman Rick Elie said.

Said Westlake Coach Jim Benkert: “We were just manhandled up front. We were playing a real physical team with size and we were playing with 165-pound guards.”

Facing one of the most highly recruited quarterbacks in the region in Ryan Fien, Westlake defenders did everything but put the ball into the end zone themselves.

They sacked Fien three times for 37 yards and limited him to five completions in 12 attempts for 69 yards. In Royal’s previous three games, Fien had completed 37 of 78 for 492 yards.

“Our defense gave us opportunities,” Benkert said. “But we sputtered offensively. They stuffed us.”

Fien gave the Highlanders (4-0 overall) all the points they would need when he connected with his favorite target, Steve Feil, on a 32-yard scoring pass in the first quarter.

The underdog Warriors (1-3 overall) could have gone into halftime down by just seven if not for a special-teams breakdown in the second quarter that led to Royal’s second score.

Mike Streeter found a hole in the Westlake coverage, however. Streeter, a sprinter on the Highlander track team, found the hole, cut outside and raced untouched to complete a 70-yard punt return.

Streeter also carried 13 times for 84 yards.

Royal Coach Gene Uebelhardt commended his young secondary for helping the front line make Snyder miserable.

“We have three 10th-graders back there,” Uebelhardt said of the defensive backfield, which continually double- and triple-teamed Westlake’s Erik Holcomb. “They’re so young, I don’t think they even shave yet.”