Notebook : Sean Waters : Buena Backs Banged Up as League Games Near

Thousand Oaks High not only broke the back of Buena last week, it also left a few bruised, too.

Buena quarterback Jason Isaacs and running back Tony Williams both suffered back injuries during a 27-0 loss to the Lancers.

They are questionable for Friday’s game at Newbury Park. Buena begins its league season at Oxnard the following week.

“Isaacs doesn’t move around too well right now,” Buena Coach Rick Scott said. “He took three or four shots in the ballgame, a couple times in the pocket and when he was scrambling.”

Isaacs missed two series against the Lancers and was replaced junior Mike Dexter. Dexter and junior Jim Seguine, who started last year at the sophomore level, are likely replacements if Isaacs can’t play.

Williams, who suffers from back spasms, also took a pounding and was held to 33 yards rushing.

Both players have undergone physical therapy since last Thursday’s game and were limited to noncontact drills this week in practice.

“After the game, we looked like a MASH unit,” Scott said. “Richard Harris had his knee locked up, so our whole backfield was out.”

Harris, who had minus one yard on two carries, is expected to play.

Record-setter: After already setting a Ventura County record, Santa Clara quarterback Tim Gutierrez sets his sights on becoming one of the top 10 passers in the history of the Southern Section.

Gutierrez completed 15 of 24 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns Saturday to establish a county record for most career yards passing with 4,700. Ken Lutz of Royal held the previous mark with 4,698 yards during the 1981-83 seasons.

Another 890 yards will put Gutierrez in 10th place ahead of Rob Hertel (5,589 in 1970-72) and Gutierrez realistically could finish in third place behind Todd Marinovich, the USC freshman, and Pat Haden, the former Trojan and Ram. Bret Johnson, the UCLA freshman, is third with 6,653.

Nonstop Fausett: St. Bonaventure High’s defense couldn’t do it so Santa Paula Coach Mike Tsoutsouvas showed mercy by shutting off the Fausett in the second half.

The Cardinals’ Ben Fausett threw only one pass after halftime after completing 10 of 14 passes for 265 yards and a school-record five touchdowns in the first.

In his second varsity game, Fausett had eight consecutive completions that included touchdown passes of 8, 47, 56, 14 and 35.

Three of those touchdowns went to receiver Jason Freeman, who played his second game ever.

“Three plays, three touchdowns. I think our cornerbacks need more work,” St. Bonaventure Coach Damian Wilkerson said. “It’s a fade pattern. Their quarterback would roll to the single-receiver side. The ball seemed like it would fall out of the sky and the receiver would run right past our guy. I’m sure he tried his best to cover him.”

Freeman finished with five receptions for 196 yards.

Just like the movies: Hueneme High Coach George Machado said his team’s 38-20 loss to Channel Islands resembled a Clint Eastwood film. “The good was Damon Hicks. The bad was our defense and the ugly was our kicking game,” he said.

The good came when Hicks make his belated debut. After missing the first week because of chicken pox, Hicks completed 21 of 30 passes for 264 yards and a touchdown. He also had 27 yards in 12 carries.

Hicks earned the Mr. Goodwrench award for fixing Hueneme’s anemic offense. The Vikings had 342 yards in total offense after having 45 yards in their first week loss to Hawthorne.

The bad is a carry-over from last week. In each of the first two games, the defense has given up 30 or more points and more than 300 yards in total offense.

The ugly continues to be punting. On fourth-and-13, Hicks punted into the backside of teammate Danny McMichael. Hicks made the most of the broken play by picking up the loose ball and running 14 yards for a first down.

Knee deep: Oxnard High lost three linemen to knee injuries last week and the way Coach Jack Davis talks, the Yellowjackets may lose a lot more than players against Channel Islands.

“We don’t match up well against Channel Islands,” Davis said. “They have the biggest linemen I’ve ever seen. They’re bigger than the Rams and better than the Raiders--the real Raiders. We’ll be lucky to lose by only 14 points.”

The Yellowjackets lost defensive tackle Joe Torres (bruised left knee), linebacker Donald Espinoza (strained ligaments in right knee) and middle linebacker/offensive guard Alex Soriano (strained ligaments in left knee). All three are doubtful for Saturday’s game at Hueneme High.

“I’m no longer coaching the team,” Davis said. “I’m now in the knee repair business.”

Still, it would be hard to imagine quarterback Johnel Turner and fullback Bryant Taylor never beating Channel Islands during their high school careers. The Raiders have won the city’s bragging rights the past two seasons.

Auspicious debut: Freddie Bradley did not take long to fit into the Moorpark College offense. The former Hueneme High running back returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown in Moorpark’s season-opening 31-7 victory over East Los Angeles.

Bradley added another touchdown 14 minutes later when quarterback Jayson Merrill hit the tailback with a 25-yard scoring pass.