McCann in Luck, Out Only One Week
Ryan McCann’s injury to his left shoulder is a slight separation that should keep him sidelined only for Agoura’s game next week against Camarillo High, Agoura Coach Charlie Wegher said.
McCann, a 6-foot-4 left-handed passer, left Friday on a recruiting trip to California with teammate Marcus Helfman.
The Chargers (4-1, 2-0 in league play) will start either Helfman, a 6-6 senior tight end who played quarterback at the freshman and junior varsity levels, or junior Alex LaFazia at quarterback next week.
McCann was injured while being tackled in the third quarter of 20-7 victory over Royal Thursday night.
“The shoulder is just sore and he probably won’t play against Camarillo,” Wegher said. “But if he recovers quickly he might.”
Food for thought: Dick Billingsley isn’t going hungry these days. Neither are the rest of the Oak Park football coaches.
Players who are nailed for minor violations of team policy don’t run laps or stadium steps until they drop. Instead, they drop off a lunch--to the coach.
“I’ll tell ya, it’s great,” said Billingsley, who gathered as many as seven lunches on one day.
“Instead of punishing them, we make them bring in some food. It’s good-natured. We don’t go for that [punitive conditioning] stuff.”
Most players are nabbed for violations such as leaving equipment in the locker room or forgetting something at home. Tardiness is also costly.
Billingsley has received sushi, chicken burritos and sub sandwiches, among other entrees.
Stuck on you: Offensive lineman Tim Adrian of Moorpark and defensive lineman Matt Warman of Oak Park got a little too close for comfort in the fourth quarter of their nonleague game Thursday night at Oak Park.
They went head to head on a play late in the fourth quarter when their helmets stuck together. When Warman emerged from the pile, he was wearing his helmet and Adrian’s.
The game was delayed briefly as the referees separated the helmets and returned them to their rightful owners.
Dropping out: Fumble may have six letters in it, but at Village Christian it’s a four-letter word.
“That word is forbidden at our practices,” Crusader Coach Mike Plaisance said.
“We refuse to say that word around here.”
The strategy seems to have worked. Crusader running backs have 135 carries without a fumble this season.
Village Christian’s eight fumbles have come either on the quarterback-center exchange or by a receiver after a completed pass.
Village Christian plays Flintridge Prep tonight at Kennedy High.
Taking a breather: Glendale doesn’t play this week but you won’t hear the Dynamiters complain.
The opening was created last summer when first-year Coach Pete Smolin elected to drop the second year of a two-year contract with Bloomington, which whacked Glendale, 68-12, last season.
By the time the Dynamiters began to look for a scheduling replacement, the only team available was Southern Section powerhouse Bishop Amat.
Suddenly, a two-week break between games didn’t seem so bad.
“Some are saying it’s the best decision I’ve made so far,” Smolin said.
The bright side: It’s been a rough season for St. Genevieve quarterback Eddie Beltran, who has completed only six of 29 passes and had eight intercepted. The silver lining?
Beltran has thrown for 80 yards, an average of 13.3 yards per completion.