Royal Humbles Thousand Oaks

Some strange sights emerged Friday night from the haze at Moorpark College, where Royal High rolled to a 28-13 win over Thousand Oaks in a Marmonte League game before a capacity crowd of nearly 8,000.

There was Royal, which had never won so much as a share of a Marmonte title, coming up with big plays and even bigger hits. These were the same Highlanders who, two seasons ago, won only three games and played before an average crowd of about 200.

And there was Thousand Oaks, which has won 12 league titles, turning the ball over three times and watching its fans head for the parking lot with two minutes left. The Lancers even lost their composure, collecting two personal fouls and having a player ejected for punching an opponent.

Royal, ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section’s Division II, outplayed Thousand Oaks, which had not lost in its previous 18 league contests, in nearly every facet of the game. The Highlanders improved to 9-0, 6-0 in league play, and left the field with at least of share of their first league football title.

“When we took over this program four years ago, Thousand Oaks was the best program in Ventura County,” Royal Coach Gene Uebelhardt said. “We wanted to be like Thousand Oaks, and we took a big step toward that (Friday).”

Royal’s stride was made easier by its balanced offense, which gained 300 yards, and a defense that stung like a bee. Senior quarterback Ryan Fien was 13 of 20 passing for 171 yards and two touchdowns and junior running back Mike Streeter gained 97 yards in 19 carries for Royal.

Royal’s defense, which had allowed only 166 yards a game, limited the Lancers to 251 yards. Thousand Oaks (7-2, 5-1), which had averaged 311 rushing yards a game this season, was limited to 138 in 23 carries.

Thousand Oaks started three drives at midfield in the second half but turned the ball over twice. The Lancers also hurt themselves with 10 penalties for 97 yards.

“It’s pretty hard to win in that situation,” Thousand Oaks Coach Bob Richards said.

Royal, which led, 21-13, at halftime, stumbled in the second half as Fien was sacked four times. But the Highlanders came up with the touchdown they needed on Damian Geib’s five-yard run with 3 minutes 58 seconds left. Wade Stark’s conversion extended Royal’s lead to 28-13, and the Highlanders’ victory was wrapped up with a fumble that Eric Hambly recovered with 2:54 to play.

Royal needed only 16 plays to score touchdowns on its first two drives and the Highlanders led, 14-0, after one quarter. Geib capped a five-minute drive when he scored from five yards with 5:22 left in the quarter and Fien hit Steve Feil (four receptions for 63 yards) from 28 yards with 52 seconds left.

Thousand Oaks answered with a one-yard run by Quincy Jacobs with 9:26 left in the first half and Erik Kraszewski’s conversion cut Royal’s lead to 14-7.

On the Lancers’ next drive, they faced third and one at the Highlanders’ 48 when Cory Bowen (13 carries for 96 yards) broke a tackle and ran untouched into the end zone. Kraszewski hooked the conversion attempt left, leaving Thousand Oaks with a 14-13 deficit with 3:19 left in the half.

Royal came back with another score, this time on a 43-yard pass from Fien to Streeter with 1:07 left. Stark’s conversion extended Royal’s lead to 21-13.

“They played better than us,” Richards said.