Looking Back: Calabasas' Football Had One of Its Best Seasons

Summer has arrived, and it’s a good time to take one final look back at Calabasas High’s 2010 football season, the first in a Patch series reviewing the prep sports season for 2010-2011.

In September, the football year got off to a successful start when the Coyotes, hoping to overcome years of struggle since joining the high-powered Marmonte League 10 years earlier, opened with a 17-7 win at Granada Hills, limiting the host Highlanders to 182 yards of total offense – Calabasas’ first opening victory in a decade.

Shane Bick had two interceptions, returning one 77 yards for a touchdown, and Nick Eberle added an interception and a fumble recovery, as Calabasas came from four points down. Kyle Zion completed 7 of 15 passes for 82 yards and added 63 yards rushing.

Marmonte League competition began the following week, and Calabasas lost its first two league games to extend its league-losing streak to 53 before coming though with a 33-7 victory over visiting Simi Valley to break the skid in the Coyotes’ first league victory in eight seasons.

Zion, who was eight years old when the losing streak started, completed 12 of 17 passes for 202 yards, including touchdowns of 55 and 20 yards to Alex Verones.

Calabasas’ previous league win was in 2001, a 28-21 victory over Newbury Park.

After a loss the following week, Calabasas came through with another Marmonte win, defeating Newbury Park 34-28. Zion was the hero again, passing nine yards to Shane Bick for the winning touchdown with one minute, 55 seconds remaining, as the Coyotes totaled two league victories for the first time since joining the Marmonte.

Calabasas came back from a 14-point deficit in the second half, and Brett Schwartz preserved the win with an interception in the waning seconds.

Zion completed 13 of 22 for 144 yards and two touchdowns, and Bick had six receptions for 70 yards.

At this point, Calabasas was 3-3, by far its best season in a long time, but the fierce competition in the fortified Marmonte League eventually caught up with the Coyotes.

A tough 35-21 loss to neighborhood rival Agoura followed, a heartbreaking homecoming defeat as Calabasas blew a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter in losing for the 13^th time in a row to the visiting Chargers.

Zion completed 11 of 29 for 199 yards but was intercepted four times, and Tai Kusakawa added 115 yards rushing and a touchdown. The big problem for the Coyotes was trying to stop Agoura quarterback Gerard Poutier, who passed for 362 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown.

Calabasas never recovered. The Coyotes did not win another game, falling 57-0 at national power St. Bonaventure, 57-27 against visiting Thousand Oaks, then 56-15 to visiting Westlake in the finale.

"Our goal was to be competitive all season long, and that's a tough thing to do, especially when you play in our league,'' Zion said.

Calabasas finished tied for seventh in the 10-team league and did make the playoffs, but it was still a good year by program standards, maybe even a great one.

"I really think we were able to turn a corner,'' coach Larry Edwards said. "The kids bought into the system and gave a great overall effort. They believed in themselves and they also made believers out of everybody else.

“Everyone stuck with it and managed to hang in there, despite the odds. All of the negativity surrounding the program never bothered us. We were a motivated group, and we played with a whole lot of pride.”

In December, Edwards resigned after two seasons in his second stint at the school, where he remains athletic director. In January, offensive coordinator Christian Pierce, 48, was promoted to head coach.

“I feel great about it. I’m honored,” Pierce said. “I’m looking forward to the challenge. We have a good corps of players coming back plus the support of the administration and the boosters. There is nowhere to go but up, so we’re going to ride the momentum. I’m looking for good things.”