Lancers Charging Again : Efficient Coaches, Camaraderie and a Starr System Help Restore Thousand Oaks’ Luster

Explanations appear obvious for the return to glory of Thousand Oaks High football after three consecutive losing seasons.

Must be the new coach, Mike Kelly, a dutiful assistant for more than a decade who finally got to run the show.

Must be the burly tailback, Brandon Jackson, who reached 1,000 yards rushing in seven games.

Must be the tall quarterback, Scott McEwan, who has erased almost all of the school’s season and career passing records.

Look harder, however, and more subtle reasons for the Lancers’ 8-1 record come into focus.

Traditional roles are blurred on a coaching staff that is the most experienced in the region.

Broad smiles lie behind the face masks of seniors and juniors, first- and second-stringers alike. This team is having great fun, something not taken for granted in a program racked by dissension the past three seasons.

Jackson, McEwan and highly recruited tackle R.J. Starr are the big names, but the roster is filled with good players. A junior class that never learned how to lose has blended with a senior class that has a handful of strong leaders.

The result is a team one victory from giving Thousand Oaks its first Marmonte League championship since a string of six consecutive titles ended in 1991.

The victory won’t come easily against unbeaten rival Newbury Park, but win or lose the Lancers have regained the stature they enjoyed in qualifying for the playoffs 16 times from 1972-91. A look at the three reasons why:

COACHES’ CORNER

A recipe for disaster instead formed a winning combination: a first-year head coach surrounded by assistants with a collective 80 years of experience, including two with 40 years as head coaches.

One assistant, Bob Richards, was forced to resign last year after 12 seasons as the Thousand Oaks head coach. Another, Bob Shoup, was one of the nation’s most successful small-college coaches during his 28 years at Cal Lutheran.

Easygoing Rob Elliot, a Lancer assistant for nearly 30 years, and fiery Gary Wagner, young and energetic, complete the staff.

“Each coach has a role and no one tries to take too much power,” said Jim Ange, a senior two-way starter. “It’s almost like there is no head coach.”

That’s a tribute to Kelly’s style. He delegates responsibility and showers everyone with compliments.

Shoup calls the offensive plays, blending a college-style passing system into a program noted for its rugged running game. Elliot calls the defense from the sidelines and Richards offers input from the press box.

Kelly, unfailingly polite to referees, opponents and everyone in Lancer Green and White, makes Miss Manners seem coarse. He is intent on setting a tone of decorum and composure.

Sideline behavior is safe and sane, a departure from the fireworks that marked past Lancer teams. Early in the season, Kelly startled even himself by raising his voice, and he apologized to the team immediately after the game.

“Coach Kelly is such a positive guy; I’ve never seen him in a bad mood,” said Josh Casillas, a junior safety. “He’s always upbeat.”

Richards has kept his chin up as well. His willingness to take a back seat in a program he led to an 82-47-7 record has not gone unnoticed.

“It seemed to me he was under a lot of pressure the past couple years,” said Jackson, a three-year varsity player. “He is more relaxed, helping players one on one now. He’s a dynamic worker and I think he’s a great coach. It’s really admirable the way he’s handled everything.”

Shoup, 63, is proving it’s never too late to learn. Since being forced to resign at Cal Lutheran in 1989 after posting a 185-87-6 record, he has spent time at Stanford, UCLA, California and New Mexico studying offensive schemes. This is his first season as a full-time Lancer assistant.

“We’ve changed out of a strictly I-formation team to employing multiple formations,” he said. “It’s more demanding on the kids, but generally this team has intelligence as good as the better college teams I’ve had.”

Kelly’s father, Joe, a longtime coach at Eagle Rock High and Pierce College in the ‘50s and ‘60s, was coaxed out of retirement by Shoup to serve as an assistant on Cal Lutheran’s NAIA championship team in 1971.

Now Shoup is serving a similar role under Mike Kelly.

“The players are appreciative of Mike’s straightforward approach,” Shoup said. “He’s a communicator and he has a great rapport with the players. I think he has done a masterful job.”

ONE HAPPY FAMILY

Call it bribery or brilliance, either way it worked. One of Kelly’s first moves was to shorten practice to 2 hours 15 minutes.

“Last year they were at least three hours,” Ange said. “Now our practices are more focused, more intense. People don’t screw around because they know that if we get our work done, we’re outta there.”

Extra time is put in the night before games, but in a relaxed fashion. The team gathers at the fieldhouse or at Elliot’s home and watches game films while munching on nachos and pizza.

“We are almost like a family,” said McEwan, the junior quarterback.

Kelly constantly takes the team’s temperature. When he sees a frown, he asks captains Chris Melzer or Greg Gallup about it. Harmony is paramount.

Jealousies and infighting took a toll the past two years. Players did not like one another and many voiced their displeasure. Quietly observing the dissension from the distance of the junior varsity were the current Lancers.

“I saw the friction and decided it wouldn’t happen my senior year,” Starr said. “I tried to make a point of making juniors feel comfortable.”

Problems could have arisen because several juniors stepped into starting roles after coming to the varsity with a 19-0-1 record at the lower levels. Meanwhile, the seniors had enjoyed little success.

“Even though some juniors are starting, the seniors don’t hold that against us,” Casillas said. “Instead of fighting we help each other.”

ONE STARR, MANY STARS

Jackson has missed nearly two games because of a separated shoulder, and junior Eleo Cuadra stepped off 350 yards and five touchdowns in his absence. So it goes on a team rich with quality players.

The depth allows for a two-platoon system: Only Ange and junior Jud Southwell play most of the time on offense and defense.

And it is difficult for opponents to find a weak link. Each unit has one or two exceptional players and several good ones.

Joining Starr and Ange on the offensive line are junior Greg Smith and seniors Chris Carafelli, Tony Sena and Lance McGuire.

With Jackson and McEwan at skill positions are fullbacks Southwell and Chris McKearn, a senior, and wide receivers Barrett Grindle, a junior, and Eric Allen, a senior.

Supporting Melzer in the secondary are Casillas and senior cornerbacks Aaron Shaw and Jeff Feiereisen.

Joining Gallup and Ange on the defensive front seven are Southwell at outside linebacker and ends Joe Kneizeh, a senior, and John Medina, a junior.

Juniors Chance Redmond and Ryan Tardif rotate with McKearn at tackle.

“We knew before the season we would be a team that would come out from behind the rock and bite everyone,” Ange said.

Kelly, a science teacher, sums up the success in one word: chemistry.

“This is a special group of kids,” he said. “They get along, the coaches get along and winning just makes everything easier. We’ve all worked together to make football fun.”