ANGLE OF ATTACK

Unfortunately for would-be tacklers, Loren Cerny is familiar with geometry.

Not so much the Pythagorean theorem or the importance of pi in determining the circumference of a circle.

The bruising running back at Camarillo High is more in tune with the concept that any compass-wielding, protractor-holding geometry maven knows--the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

His demonstrations often come at the expense of a crunched cornerback or a steamrolled safety, who know exactly where Cerny is going to run, but are powerless as to how to tackle the 6-foot-3, 220-pound junior.

“I just go up the middle and take people out,� Cerny said. “I can’t run the 40 in 4.3 and juke like crazy, but I can throw my weight around. Just doing my job.�

Cerny will try to adhere to his job description tonight against Lompoc in a first-round game of the Southern Section Division IV playoffs.

He succeeds more often than not, but Cerny, who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds, occasionally is too eager to run over a defender.

“Sometimes we get mad at him,� said Coach Carl Thompson of Camarillo. “You’re allowed to go around people. It’s like, ‘Dang it, get in the end zone.’ �

Thompson forgives and forgets, however, especially with the numbers Cerny has posted this season, his first as a running back.

A converted tight end, Cerny has rushed for 1,405 yards and 17 touchdowns in 207 carries. He is the second-leading receiver on the team, with 19 catches for 172 yards and three touchdowns.

He has accounted for 46% of the Scorpions’ offense.

“He’s been our bread and butter all year,� Thompson said. “Everybody really keys on him now. They all know to look for No. 34 because that’s where the ball is going to be.�

Cerny has carried Camarillo (5-4-1) lately, rushing for 241 yards in 21 carries last week in a 42-12 victory over Channel Islands that clinched the Pacific View League championship. It was the eighth 100-yard rushing game of the season for Cerny.

There’s little reason to think he’ll slow down in the playoffs, an environment with which he is somewhat familiar.

Cerny was still in junior high when Camarillo won the Division III championship in 1996, but his sister, Jennifer, was a senior at St. Bonaventure, which won the Division X football championship that year.

Cerny became friends with St. Bonaventure receiver Pepe Villasenor, who had 111 receptions that season and now plays at Ohio Wesleyan. He remembers seeing the 5-8 Villasenor excel in the playoffs.

“He was a tough little guy,� Cerny said. “You’d be surprised.�

Cerny’s out-of-school ties don’t end there. His mother, Connie Cervera, is chairperson of the bilingual education department at Oxnard High, which makes for an interesting week leading up to the annual league game with Camarillo.

“There’s a lot of trash-talking,� Cerny said. “My mom’s got a good sense of humor.�

Few things worry Cerny, who finds many ways to relax.

He has golfed since he was 8 and has shot par several times at the Camarillo Springs golf course.

He also surfs, often rising before the sun on weekends for a five-hour tussle with the Pacific Ocean.

More recently, he has tried freshwater fishing, though he has yet to figure out the nuances of rod and reel.

“To tell you the truth,� he said, “I haven’t really caught anything big.�

Funny. Sounds like something a defender would say after a game against Camarillo.