HIGH SCHOOL NOTEBOOK : Hueneme’s Machado Loose Despite Losses

The only thing Hueneme High football Coach George Machado has not lost this season is his sense of humor.

His Vikings have dropped their six games this season and have been outscored, 242-45. Hueneme has lost 18 consecutive games dating to 1988 and must finish the season with games against Channel League contenders Oxnard, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Marcos.

“We might have to get a three-digit scoreboard,� Machado said. “We’ll grab the one in the gym and stick a couple of two-by-fours on it.�

Earlier this week, the team was watching game films of Oxnard that were supplied by Oxnard Coach Jack Davis. Midway through the film, an episode of “The Love Boat� appeared.

“My coaches wanted me to fast-forward it, but I was really getting into it,� Machado said. “We ended up watching two episodes of ‘Love Boat,’ and the last quarter of Oxnard’s game with Santa Barbara. But I learned two things: One, Oxnard is a very talented football team. And, two, Jack has cable (television).�

Machado, in his fifth year as head coach, said his team should not be playing in the Channel League.

“People say, ‘Hey, you have 2,000 kids,’ but a majority of them are migrant students and (English as a Second Language) students,� he said. “I’m not crying. I just think at some point you have to be realistic, and our kids are being embarrassed each week.�

Machado says he uses his sense of humor to avoid insanity. His players told him they lost faith Friday, during a 42-0 loss to Dos Pueblos.

“I could go get the greatest evangelist in the world, and I don’t think he could get my kids to spend 50 cents,� Machado said with, of course, a laugh.

Multiple threat: Royal’s Tony Liming, a senior wide receiver, has become one of the best big-play men in the Marmonte League.

In a 26-20 loss to Camarillo last Friday, Liming caught a 70-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Fien on the Highlanders’ first play from scrimmage and added a 96-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter.

Liming is a 5-foot-9 senior who has been timed at 4.5 seconds for a 40-yard run. He doubles as a defensive back and had interception returns of 50 and 70 yards for scores in a 35-0 win over Santa Ynez. He also caught a 64-yard touchdown pass from Fien in a 28-8 win over Channel Islands.

“There’s no telling what is going to happen when he steps on a football field,� Coach Gene Uebelhardt said. “He’s a tremendous competitor who plays the game the way it was meant to be played.�

Hurting: Channel Islands (2-4, 0-3 in Marmonte League play) was rated as a candidate for a playoff berth before it lost four consecutive games. The Raiders, who won league titles in 1987 and 1988, have been decimated by injuries.

Renard Carn, who gained 243 yards in Channel Islands’ first two games, sustained a stress fracture in an ankle and will not return until next week. Lamont Pearson filled in and suffered cracked ribs.

Starting guard Jon Gallero, tight end Dante Mitchell, wide receiver Rich Hunt, defensive back Tommy Tucay and running back Tony Velasquez also have missed games because of injuries.

“I’ve never had a year like this before,� Coach Joel Gershon said. “We’re just hanging in there and waiting for a better day.�

That could be Saturday, when the Raiders celebrate homecoming. The often-amiable guest is Simi Valley (0-6, 0-3), loser of eight consecutive games and 25 of its past 26.

Tenure system: Harvard tailbacks Kent Dahn and Jeremiah Aguolu are equal in size, 5-9 and 160 pounds, and in ability, according to Coach Gary Thran.

Thran inserts Dahn, a senior, and Aguolu, a junior, on alternating series in an effort to give them equal playing time.

Last season, Dahn carried 95 times, Aguolu 94, and both rushed for more than 400 yards.

In a win over La Canada this season, Dahn gained 85 yards in eight carries and Aguolu had 87 yards in seven tries. However, Dahn (681 yards in 81 carries) has carried 50 times more than Aguolu (374 yards).

“It’s just the luck of the draw,� Thran said. “He’s just been in the game in situations where we’ve got a long drive going.�

Dahn, who has rushed for more than 100 yards in four games, carried 11 times on a scoring drive against Bell-Jeff that consumed more than seven minutes.

Sophomore sensations: Village Christian was touted as a team to watch in Division X this year, mainly because of its wealth of returning talent. But what happens when the veterans get hurt or suspended and cannot play?

You look to your sophomores, Coach Mike Plaisance says. He did just that in a 6-0 win over L. A. Baptist on Saturday in an Alpha League opener for both teams.

With senior quarterback Mark Vail sidelined for disciplinary reasons, sophomore quarterback David Treanor threw a touchdown pass to another sophomore, J. B. McLeod, for the game’s only score.

Sophomore Brett Borden gained 35 yards in six carries as a replacement for senior fullback Rick Nickels, who is out for the season because of a knee injury. And when L. A. Baptist put together its best drive of the night, sophomore Erik Martin picked off a Dane Brown pass to kill the threat.

In addition, sophomore Tristan Grell handled punting and kicking duties, and sophomore Virgil Ross started at center.

Said Plaisance: “The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades.�

Thinking big: With a 6-0 record and four shutouts, Fillmore has raised its expectations this season. The Flashes recorded the best mark in school history (10-2) last year. But third-year Coach Curtis Garner has begun to think that this year’s team can top that finish.

“If you’d have asked me three or four weeks ago, I’d have said no,� he said. “But now I’m starting to come around and believe it.�

Title wave: The boys’ cross-country team at Channel Islands long has been unable to qualify for the Southern Section preliminaries, much less win a league championship.

The Raiders, 1-A Division and Frontier League champs in 1967, have been absent from postseason competition until this year. Channel Islands clinched a share on the Marmonte League title Wednesday against Agoura and three-time league champion Camarillo. The Raiders thumped Agoura, 23-33, and edged Camarillo, 27-28. Camarillo topped Agoura, 21-36.

And the Raiders are apt to continue winning next year: Top runners Stewart Ellington and Fernando Mendoza are juniors, and Patrick Blunt was the 1989 Ventura County freshman champion.

Camarillo can claim a share of the league championship Nov. 1 if the Scorpions beat Channel Islands in the league finals.

Streak snapped: Camarillo, the defending state Division I champion, won 31 consecutive dual meets dating to 1986 before losing to Channel Islands by a point Wednesday.

“With a quarter-mile to go we had them by about two points,� Coach Mike Smith said. There were a couple of (Channel Islands) guys who just out-leaned our guys by a shoulder at the finish.�

Mike Glaze and staff writers Kirby Lee, Brian Murphy and Jeff Riley contributed to this notebook.