Sharks drown in football season opener

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Junior Matthew Mason splits open the Raiders' defense with a 50-yard run in the second quarter during the first game of the season. Photo by Sam Rubinroit

The Malibu High School football team suffered a disappointing loss in their first game of the season at the hands of the Channel Islands Raiders, 17-0.

The game appeared to be over before the varsity squad even took the field. Prior to the game, the junior varsity team opened their season against the Raiders with a 47-0 loss. Channel Islands lists 64 players on its varsity roster, compared to Malibu’s 25, which includes one player who has since left the team and two players not in uniform due to injuries. Along with having nearly twice as many players, Channel Islands brought an entire marching band and squad of cheerleaders, upstaging Malibu’s first-year cheering squad and lack of drum line.

Malibu showed promise at the start of the game, and despite punting on their first offensive drive, the Sharks regained the ball on the 8-yard line after senior John Schneider recovered a fumble. Thus began the first of several scoring opportunities negated by penalties or unforced errors. After moving the ball just three yards short of the goal line, a penalty pushed the Sharks back and they were unable to convert on a fourth down and one. The Malibu defense forced Channel Islands to punt, but once again the Sharks’ offense could not convert on a fourth and short, ending the scoreless first quarter.

In the second quarter, as Malibu’s defense continued to stand its ground, the offense had trouble getting anything started. The score was 10-0 entering halftime.

The third quarter ended with the Raiders leading, 17-0, and in the fourth quarter, Malibu made its way into the red zone, but a touchdown pass to receiver Eli Redman was negated when Malibu quarterback Victor Tyler was ruled to be past the line of scrimmage. As the Channel Islands band played the UCLA fight song, the game ended, Channel Islands 17, Malibu 0.

For Malibu, the first game of the season was a learning experience. Channel Islands came into the game with a win the week before against Fillmore, which allowed them to get accustomed with the new season and the tempo of play. Having only 23 players, Malibu is at a distinct disadvantage, with players playing on both sides of the ball with little rest.

“Our aggressiveness was amazing,” Malibu head coach Ray Humphrey said. “We were winded because we had guys going both ways but our aggressiveness on defense was huge today and that was key for us.”

Malibu is also dealing with the loss of last year’s senior class, which included running back Sean Conrad, who averaged more than 200 yards per game and is now playing at Princeton University, and tight end Justin Hale, who averaged more than 15 yards per catch and is attending the University of Redlands to play football (statistics according to Maxpreps.com). Additionally, several of the current seniors who played last year are no longer on the team, further thinning the Malibu roster.

“They have to be in shape, and we have to run them a little bit more,” Humphrey said of his depleted depth chart. “We have to condition a lot more, and we have to use them as sparingly as we can. They just know that they need to play Iron Man football.”

After losing Conrad, Malibu’s primary offensive weapon from last year, the Sharks have instituted a new Spread Offense, with Tyler starting in a shotgun formation with a multiple receiver set. The Sharks have also moved to a no-huddle offense, with Tyler relaying the play call in formation. Last season, the offense was often limited to a sweep left or right with Conrad, or, on long yardage situations, a pass to Hale across the middle. The new offensive set requires Tyler to think on his feet, looking for a second option when the primary receiver is covered. As a result, in the opening games, he will have a higher incompletion rate and produce more fumbles and interceptions, and he will have to keep his frustration under control in order to be successful.

“We had some first game mistakes, the first game jitters,” Humphrey said. “We have a new offense we have to get used to, and we had some mistakes to overcome, but everything is fixable.”