Hueneme Offense Has Come to Pass

With cousins Leslie and Tamar Lee, and Dwayne Taylor at Hueneme High’s disposal, the Vikings’ running game has never been suspect.

With quarterback Gordie Pinedo coming into his own, neither is the passing game.

Pinedo, a junior, has completed 60 of 111 passes (54.1%) for 1,217 yards and 15 touchdowns with only three interceptions. In victories over Rio Mesa and Camarillo the last two weeks, he is 20 of 33 for 554 yards and six touchdowns with one interception.

“He’s become very comfortable with his role,” said Hueneme assistant Tony Pinedo, Gordie’s uncle. “The emergence of the passing game is a little ahead of schedule. We’ve officially become a 50-50 team.”

Gordie Pinedo has improved under first-year quarterback coach Ryan Huisenga, quarterback at Cal Lutheran from 1994-96 and a former assistant at Moorpark High and Cal Lutheran.

Huisenga worked with Pinedo on footwork, reading defenses and finding the open receiver while curbing his tendency to lock onto one target.

“He’s blossoming into a special player,” Huisenga said. “He definitely came around faster than I anticipated, and I expect more from him in the future.”

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Camarillo running back Loren Cerny has not practiced this week and is “very doubtful” for a nonleague game tonight against San Marcos, Coach Carl Thompson said.

Cerny, a senior, is likely to sit out his second consecutive game after spraining his right ankle against Hueneme two weeks ago.

Sophomore Marc Kawamoto will start in Cerny’s place after a strong varsity debut last week. He rushed for 96 yards in 18 carries in a 28-6 victory over Oxnard.

“If it wasn’t for Loren being here, [Kawamoto would] probably be starting for us this season,” Thompson said. “We kept him [on the junior varsity] so he could play more.”

While Cerny (6 feet 3, 225 pounds) is a bruising power runner, Kawamoto (5-8, 145) provides speed and elusiveness.