Carrying On Tradition

As one of the last holdouts, a school stubbornly sticking to a ground game while rivals on all sides take to the air, Thousand Oaks has trotted out some excellent running backs.

The Lancers showcased Marc Monestime, Cory Bowen and Brandon Jackson in recent years the way quarterbacks Keith Smith and the Czernek brothers were at Newbury Park and Kevin Crook and the P1919251316 But Wes Cobos, all 150 pounds of him, will be talked about in the same breath as the best Lancer backs. Cobos, who is The Times’ Ventura County back of the year, rushed for 1,582 yards and 825761908 “Wes is absolutely a tremendous running back,” Coach Mike Kelly of Thousand Oaks said. “We’ve had some good ones, but he’s the best.

“And he is a great young guy, humble, a team player. I can’t say enough about what he meant to our football team.”

After a slow start, Thousand Oaks (5-5-1) finished strong, tying Westlake, defeating Newbury Park and losing only to Simi Valley in Marmonte League play.

As the Lancers heated up, so did Cobos, who averaged 200 yards rushing during a six-game stretch that included four victories and a tie.

In the first game of the streak, a victory over Agoura, Cobos rushed for 227 yards and a 45-yard touchdown, returned a fumble 55 yards for a touchdown, and connected with Eric Schmidt on a 65-yard touchdown pass play.

“I felt honored to be compared to the great running backs at this school,” Cobos said. “When I moved here [four years ago], coaches would talk about other running backs. It carried over to me.”

Cobos, a senior, led Thousand Oaks in receiving with 22 receptions for 269 yards and was solid at cornerback. Despite his 5-foot-9 stature, he was one of four Lancer players to earn a green helmet for defensive excellence.

He wasn’t afraid to deliver blows on defense and, because of his elusiveness, he rarely took a hard knock carrying the ball.

“I really didn’t take very many hard hits and I’m thankful for that,” he said.

Like most good running backs, Cobos also is thankful for timely blocks.

“The entire line really came on,” he said. “They did a great job up front. And Joey Casillas was a great blocker and runner.”

Casillas, the Lancers’ fullback and safety, rushed for 884 yards and put together back-to-back 100-yard performances after Cobos sprained an ankle in the regular-season finale against Newbury Park.

Cobos had only two carries in the Lancers’ loss to Lompoc in the first round of the playoffs.

Although the ankle still isn’t healed, Cobos is already into wrestling season. He is a two-time Marmonte League champion and this season will wrestle at 145 pounds.

However, football is his first love. He only hopes to have an opportunity in college. Recruiting interest has been light because, well, Cobos is light.

“It bothers me a little bit because you have to fit their standards of size,” he said. “I understand where they are coming from, but it’s frustrating because I think I can do the job.

“I’ll do anything to keep playing. My main goal is to get into college and play football.”