Westlake wins first meeting of crosstown rivals

Westlake Coach Jim Benkert spent three sleepless nights wondering whether his team was ready.

He said that usually doesn’t happen before games, but then the Warriors’ Marmonte League showdown against Oaks Christian on Friday night wasn’t your usual high school football game.

It was the first meeting between the two schools that are separated by less than a mile, a matchup of a head coach (Oaks Christian’s Bill Redell) versus his former assistant (Benkert), and a sold-out crowd of more than 6,000 was expected.

A lot to think about, sure, and Benkert’s eyes carried some serious luggage to prove it. “That tells you how big it is,” he said after his team’s 31-12 win, laughing.

Parking lots anywhere near campus started filling nearly five hours before the 8:30 p.m. kickoff. About 50 media credentials were granted for the nationally televised game. And Oaks Christian doubled its usual game-day security staff.

The crowd was raucous. Just before kickoff, the Oaks Christian student section began chanting: Si se puede! Si se puede! Yes we can! Yes we can! Indeed, the Lions were underdogs to Westlake, ranked No. 2 in the Southland by The Times.

And during the game, Benkert said, with “both sides going crazy, the band going crazy, I mean, you couldn’t hear anything.”

Redell agreed: “It was great, wasn’t it? What a high school game.”

It was especially great for Westlake, which Redell called “one of the better football teams I’ve seen in my 23 years of high school coaching.”

Aside from Westlake (4-0, 3-0), every team in the Marmonte League has a loss, and Benkert wanted to keep it that way Friday so his team could control its own destiny.

“I know it’s early, but it’s really a nice victory for us,” he said.

Neither team played each other in 11 years until Oaks Christian (2-2, 2-1) joined the Marmonte League. Why?

“Honestly,” Redell began, “they didn’t want to play, and I don’t blame them. I wouldn’t have wanted to play us either. They had nothing to gain by playing us, but now they’re forced to, and they came out and did a good job.

“Hey listen,” he added, “we’ve had a good run here; we’ll continue that good run. Doesn’t hurt to be humbled once in a while.”

One especially humble player was Westlake quarterback Nick Isham, who completed 21 of 27 passes for 287 yards with two passing touchdowns and one rushing score.

During a postgame interview, Isham said all the right things, including that he has many friends at Oaks Christian. “We see each other over the summer, we play at the beach, then we come out here and you’ve got to be real tough against them,” he said.

Near the end of the interview, Ron Foster, who was Isham’s freshman coach and now coaches at Chaminade, coyly asked a question, as if he were a reporter.

“Congrats,” Foster began. “You’re awesome. I’ve always told you that. But let me ask you, was there any revenge factor, knowing you tried to come to Oaks and ended up going across the street?”

Isham played it safe, smiling, before adding, “Like I said, it was fun.”

Bosco’s Brown runs wild

St. John Bosco senior running back Martin Brown broke a 24-year-old school record with 304 rushing yards in 22 carries in his team’s 35-17 win against La Habra on Friday night.

The previous school record was set by Oscar Meza, who rushed for 276 yards in a 1986 playoff game. Brown also scored two touchdowns in the win.

Quick hits

South Torrance (3-1) allowed just two first downs and 109 total yards in its 14-0 shutout against rival West Torrance (1-3).... Serra (5-0) wide receiver Marqise Lee caught four touchdowns in the Cavaliers’ 48-22 win over Narbonne (1-3).... Westchester (3-2) quarterback Nick King recorded 322 total yards of offense and three touchdowns in the Comets’ 52-13 win against Leuzinger (0-4).

baxter.holmes@latimes.com