Football: Oak Park is headed to No. 1 status in Northwest Division
Forget college football’s phony BCS system. Oak Park has had its own little playoff-like run the last two weeks, knocking off a pair of unbeaten teams, Nordhoff and Bishop Diego, and now the Eagles are expected to climb to No. 1 in the Northwest Division by having earned respect on the field.
The Eagles’ latest triumph, 42-28 on Saturday night over Bishop Diego, leaves them at 8-1 overall and 3-0 in the Tri-Valley League. Oak Park has put together an offensive attack that can score points in large numbers behind a trio of productive players _ quarterback Chandler Whitbord, running back Brandon Coppel and receiver Matt Byer.
Whitbord passed for 256 yards and three touchdowns to rally the Eagles from a 28-21 fourth-quarter deficit. He has 29 touchdown passes in his senior year after being a backup last season at Oaks Christian.
Coppel has rushed for 1,161 yards. He had 130 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns.
Byer has caught a Ventura County-record 22 touchdown passes. He had nine catches and two touchdowns on Saturday. The state record is 33.
Oak Park’s only loss came in its season opener to Agoura.
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