For Agoura High, the Task Only Gets Tougher

There are no easy games in the Marmonte League.

The league expanded to 10 teams for the 2010 football season, adding traditional powerhouses Oaks Christian and St. Bonaventure. Westlake won the CIF-Southern Section Northern Division championship last year, is considered by many the best team in the state, and is ranked nationally by ESPN Rise magazine and MaxPreps.com. Moorpark made it to the Northern Division championship game against Westlake.

That is the challenge in front of the Agoura High football team, which will get tested early in the newly-expanded league, opening league play in the second week against Simi Valley and then playing Moorpark in the third week.

The Chargers do have three players on offense who are experienced and will be the catalyst for the team this year. Quarterback Gerard Poutier and receivers Corey Da Silva and Kevin Beams will drive the offense. The defense is experienced, led by junior linebacker Wes Rowell who had a team-high 60 tackles last season.

Agoura coach Charlie Wegher is relying on their experience and versatility to lead the team through what will be a challenging league schedule.

"It is what it is," Wegher said. "We just have to be ready. That's what we tell the kids, the pressure's on. You got to make sure every repetition of every drill counts all the time. Can't wait till later, it's got to be done immediately. That's what we're getting ready for, to jump right into league in game two."

Poutier, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound senior, passed for 1,341 yards as a junior. He threw eight touchdown passes, but had 13 interceptions. Wegher said his numbers were more a reflection of the size of his players than Poutier's abilities.

"A lot of those numbers are indicative of a team that was very young, not real big," Wegher said. "He had a lot of pressure on him last year for a junior. It was probably the smallest team I've had in a long, long time. He's improved a lot, learned a lot. He's had a good summer."

Beams said his quarterback's legs might be his greatest weapon.

"He's got some hidden speed," Beams said. "Not many people know about it. He's a threat on the outside also."

Da Silva caught 28 passes for 484 yards and a team-high seven touchdowns last year. Wegher said Da Silva will move into the Z-receiver position, the primary target in the offense.

"He's our guy. I think he's going to have a great year," Wegher said. "We throw the ball a lot to that position. He's bigger, he's stronger, he's faster, got great hands. He's going to be a good threat."

Poutier said he is looking forward to having a talented group of receivers at his disposal. In addition to Beams and Da Silva, Stephan Yang and Brett Greenstein will contribute at receiver.

"It's a blast. It's a complicated offense, but we got weapons all over," Poutier said. "It's a fun offense to run. If you do it right – it's difficult – but if you do it right, it's a great reward. Being a quarterback in a shotgun offense for the most part is pretty fun."

Beams is listed as a receiver, but he will play some out of the Wildcat, much like running back Ronnie Brown in the Miami Dolphins' offense. Beams is the team's backup quarterback and Wegher has designed plays for him in different spots in the offense.

"He's an excellent runner," Wegher said. "He started the last game for us (at quarterback) and had four touchdown passes against Calabasas. He did very well. We think he'll give us a different look putting him in there. He can do some things running the ball that Gerard maybe can't do, although Gerard's a very good runner."

Beams said his linemen especially enjoy running some of the plays designed for him.

"It's so fun. I know the linemen love it," Beams said. "Run blocking's a lot more fun than pass blocking. They're having a good time with that. I love getting outside and running down the field."

Beams will take direct snaps, play in the backfield and line up as a slot receiver. Wegher also said he plans on using Beams on the defensive side of the ball as a defensive back.

"He did a very good job," Wegher said. "Against Royal he had 10 catches. He had a big night that night. He's been one of our go-to guys all summer long. He's going to play some defense for us too."

The Agoura football team opens against Ventura High on Sept. 10. Wegher said Ventura has a way of exposing a team's deficiencies.

"I love playing Ventura because they are very well-coached," Wegher said. "They're physical. They'll show you where you need to get better real quick. They run a great program."

Poutier said he expects to be challenged with the expanded Marmote League schedule. But he welcomes the challenge and can't wait for the first game.

"This league just got a lot tougher," Poutier said. "We got to step up to the challenge, executing, working on the details, is just going to make the difference. So far, so good."