McEwan, Cuadra Spark Thousand Oaks

Crescenta Valley High threw in an element of surprise, all right.

But not enough to throw off Thousand Oaks.

Behind a balanced offense sparked by quarterback Scott McEwan and tailback Eleo Cuadra, the Lancers defeated the Falcons, 30-12, in a non-league season opener Thursday night at Thousand Oaks High.

McEwan, a senior bound for UCLA, completed eight of 16 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns, and Cuadra rushed 12 times for 102 yards and two touchdowns.

That was enough to counter Crescenta Valley’s attempt at a more balanced offense after operating strictly as a running team in 1995.

Instead of its usual wing-T offense, the Falcons employed a variation of it that included more passing--by their former running back.

Junior Kenneth Pitchett, who ran for 1,131 yards last season, played quarterback and was 14 of 19 passing for 138 yards. He also rushed 19 times for 55 yards.

“We had no clue what they were going to do on offense,” Cuadra said. “We just went out there and played. I think we did great.”

Cuadra scored on runs of 26 and 25 yards.

Thousand Oaks benefited from several key third-down conversions, including on each of its first three scoring drives. The Lancers scored on three of their first four possessions to take a 21-3 halftime lead.

“Everytime they needed something, they got it,” Crescenta Valley Coach Alan Eberhart said.