Not Everyone Cares About This Matchup

There’s an intriguing behind-the-scenes subplot leading up to Friday night’s much-anticipated football game between Ventura St. Bonaventure, ranked No. 1 in the Southland by The Times, and No. 5 Westlake Village Oaks Christian at Ventura High.

It centers on those who have shown resentment, animosity or jealousy toward the two private schools for their domination of prep football in Ventura County.

The detractors are facing a real dilemma: Which team to root for -- or against.

For years, St. Bonaventure admirably filled the role of most-despised team in Ventura County. The Seraphs’ success at beating much bigger schools and producing NCAA Division I-A prospects made others nervous about losing players to St. Bonaventure.

Along came upstart Oaks Christian in 2000, with a mission statement about achieving athletic distinction, and, sure enough, the Lions attracted players from Oak Park, Agoura, Camarillo, Malibu and Northridge. Now, they have won 33 consecutive games -- the longest active winning streak in the state.

As St. Bonaventure and Oaks Christian prepare to play each other for the first time, adults who have been critical of both programs in the past have become relatively quiet.

Some are simply choosing to ignore the game. That’s the plan of Ventura Coach Brad Steward, one of the most vocal critics of St. Bonaventure.

Asked to comment on Friday’s big showdown, Steward said, “I’m going to watch Buena and Oxnard that night.”

Gene Uebelhardt, coach at Simi Valley Royal, was even more abrupt.

“I have no interest at all in that football game,” he said.

Even players have felt some of the bad vibes. St. Bonaventure’s senior tight end, Blaine Irby, moved into the area last year from Arizona and was startled by a conspiracy theory making the rounds.

“During some games, some kids would ask me about being recruited out of Arizona, which is kind of ridiculous,” he said.

St. Bonaventure Coach Jon Mack has faced the wrath of rival coaches so often at Channel League meetings that his message is, “Shut up and work harder.”

Bill Redell, who started the Oaks Christian football program after years of coaching at Encino Crespi and La Canada St. Francis, said the perception that private schools engage in recruiting continues to be a sore subject among critics.

“I’ve tried to explain to the Ventura County coaches that we do not recruit players,” he said. “No matter what I do, it does not alleviate any of the ill feelings, so, quite frankly, I don’t pay attention anymore because there’s nothing I can do about it.”

George Contreras, president of the Ventura County Football Coaches’ Assn., said the feud between public and private schools is nothing new.

“I went to a Catholic school,” Contreras said. “Even in 1963, there was animosity between public and private schools. You’ve got a glamour program in St. Bonaventure and an up-and-coming glamour program in Oaks Christian. People have asked me, ‘What do you want to see happen?’ To be honest, I don’t care.”

Neither football program has been sanctioned for recruiting violations by the Southern Section. The fact that they play in leagues made up of mostly public schools makes for a challenging environment, but it’s hardly unique. Santa Ana Mater Dei experienced a similar situation when it used to dominate the South Coast League, made up of Orange County public schools.

While a standing-room-only crowd of 8,000 is expected to include mostly fans of Oaks Christian and St. Bonaventure, there will probably be those in attendance torn over which school deserves allegiance -- at least for one night.

Contreras said many in his community are already fed up with hearing about the game, which has been written and talked about for nearly a year.

“They’re tired of the hype,” he said. “I know he’s a great talent, but if I pick up another picture of Jimmy Clausen from a sports magazine.... My concern is this is getting out of hand.”

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Not since Long Beach Poly faced Concord De La Salle in 2001 has a nonleague high school football game generated as much interest as Friday night’s Ventura County clash.

Here, perhaps, are a few reasons:

* Curiosity factor: Oaks Christian has never played a team ranked in The Times’ top 25 in its six years of having a varsity program, so this is finally a chance to see if the Lions are, well, legitimate.

Clausen has never faced a top defense in three years as starting quarterback, so it remains a bit of a mystery as far as how he will perform against a respected pass rush.

“This is a test everybody has been looking for,” Redell said. “And Oaks Christian will be judged by this game.”

* College commitment effect: Once an elite high school athlete commits to a college, fans of college football start following him as if he were already enrolled. USC fans can’t wait to check out running back Marc Tyler and defensive back Marshall Jones of Oaks Christian, both future Trojans. Notre Dame fans have been buying up tickets to support Clausen, their future Fighting Irish quarterback.

* Oakland Raiders effect: People either love or hate the Raiders. The same passion can be seen in followers of Oaks Christian or St. Bonaventure. They have been looking forward to this game since the day it was agreed to last fall. They will do whatever it takes to get into Ventura’s Larrabee Stadium.

Kickoff is only two days away. Then comes the chance for sportswriters and fans to analyze the outcome. I can’t wait.

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FRIDAY’S GAME

* No. 5 Oaks Christian vs. No. 1 St. Bonaventure.

* Ventura High.

* 7 p.m., FSNW.

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TICKET INFORMATION

* Tickets are in such high demand for Friday night’s game involving Westlake Village Oaks Christian and Ventura St. Bonaventure that they’re being sold on EBay. A pair of tickets, valued at $14, went for $81.

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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com