Bieniek Got Her First Reception and an Excuse Me

Josh Howe made a pass at Katie Bieniek in front of a stadium full of onlookers Friday night.

And it went for a three-yard gain for Camarillo High.

Bieniek, a senior wide receiver who has been playing football for three years, is not the first female to don shoulder pads and a helmet.

But the handful of pioneer girls who came before her have been mostly kickers and maybe reserve linemen, at least in this region.

With her first catch in a varsity game, Bieniek could be forging a new trail for female athletes with an appetite for contact sports.

“I have a dad who has been treating me in such a way that no matter what, you’re never really hurt,” said Bieniek, who also wrestles in the 145-pound weight class and plays softball at Camarillo.

With the Scorpions routing Channel Islands, 40-0, Bieniek found herself not only in the game, but relaying a play from Scott Cline, offensive coordinator, and her number being called.

“It was a hitch pass and the coach told her to tell me to throw it to her,” said Howe, a junior second-string quarterback.

Howe had no problem carrying out the order.

“I was pretty comfortable with it,” he said. “I mean, she’s pretty good.”

The ponytailed 5-foot-8 receiver, who played linebacker two years ago for the junior varsity, was met immediately after running her short route and catching the pass.

She said the hit wasn’t anything she hasn’t felt before.

“It felt like practice because I do it all the time,” she said. “The difference was there was a crowd.”

As for who tackled her, Bieniek didn’t get his number.

“All I saw was jersey,” she said.

“[But] when we were shaking hands after the game, one guy apologized to me. So it might have been him.”

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Truth be told, Buena didn’t actually stop Ventura running back Tyler Ebell Friday night . . . until it was absolutely necessary.

With Buena clinging to a 28-21 lead late in the fourth quarter, the defense knew its assignment: Get Ebell.

“Coach [Rick Scott] told me and Jake [Scott] that it was our responsibility and for us to stop [Ebell],” Mike Peckfelder said.

Scott and Peckfelder, both inside linebackers, heard their coach’s command loud and clear.

Ebell, the region’s rushing leader who was averaging 7.6 yards a carry against Buena before Ventura’s final drive, found himself running into a wall at the end.

On the Cougars’ final drive, Ebell, who finished with 247 yards in 36 carries, was tackled behind the line of scrimmage twice and gained 12 yards in five carries.

Peckfelder met Ebell in the backfield on his last carry on fourth and six at midfield with 2:29 remaining and collared him for a two-yard loss.

And a Buena victory.

“We watched a lot of film on Ventura and they didn’t seem that great without Tyler,” Peckfelder said.

“They pretty much run a one-man show and we have a whole team of good athletes.”

It was the first game this season Ebell was held to fewer than 300 yards.

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As much as Kyle Matter of Hart is getting hit in the backfield this year, he might just as soon change his name to Kyle Batter(ed).

Matter’s superb performance Friday night against Burbank didn’t come easy. He paid for it . . . time and again.

Matter, who completed 30 of 39 passes for 361 yards and six touchdowns, was sacked five times for minus-30 yards.

“It’s been a little rough,” Matter said. “But sometimes you have to take the hits to get the passes off.”

Stanford-bound Matter knows of what he speaks.

“I think it’s up around 35 [sacks] now,” he said.

David Neill of Hart was sacked 41 times in 1997 and Matter is quickly closing on that number.

“I think I’m probably on pace to break that one,” Matter quipped. “But I’m definitely not looking forward to it.”

*

It was business as usual for Coach Jon Mack and his St. Bonaventure team Saturday morning as they began preparation for their next opponent.

Although the Seraphs set a Ventura County record with their 20th consecutive victory on Friday night, Mack isn’t ready to rest on his laurels.

“Twenty games is nice, it’s neat, it’s a County record, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do,” Mack said.

Moorpark won 19 games in a row from 1997-98.

Mack is not as impressed with his program’s feat as he is with the region’s record holder for consecutive victories. Harry Welch guided Canyon to 46 consecutive victories from 1983-86, one shy of a state record at the time.

“[Our record] pales in comparison,” Mack said.

St. Bonaventure has the state’s second longest streak behind Concord De La Salle. But, make no mistake, it is a distant, distant second.

“What do we have, about 100 games to go?” Mack said.

Not quite. But it might as well be. De La Salle won its 106th consecutive game Friday night.