New teams, new players — even a new name.
Welcome to the Coastal 101, the Northern Area’s third-tier football league and home to six teams that last fall were scattered across four different leagues.
Camarillo, fresh off a two-year stint in the top-tier Marmonte League, dropped two levels. Calabasas came down from the second-tier Coastal Canyon League while Oak Park, Buena and Oxnard stood pat.
Agoura is the only team that moved up into the Coastal 101, jumping a level after going undefeated in the fourth-tier Tri-County League last fall.
The Chargers have their eyes on another league crown.
“It is definitely a more challenging league and there is excitement to that,” Agoura head coach Dustin Croick said of his program’s rise. “(There is) a different feeling for the entire team, knowing that we are going to earn it if we are going to get there this year.”
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Last year's league champion Ventura and runner-up Moorpark moved up in this releaguing cycle, while last-place Royal dropped down.
Senior George Hastings is all that’s left of the mighty offensive trio that powered the Chargers into the CIF-Southern Section Division 6 semifinals last season, including first-team all-county players in quarterback Gavin Gray, now at Washington State, and star wideout Tyler Starling.
“We adapt,” Croick said. “We are going to find a way.”
The Chargers aren’t the only team in the hunt for the first-ever Coastal 101 title.
After two years of sowing the seeds of development against the area’s best in the Marmonte League, Camarillo is ready to reap.
“They have learned a couple of lessons from the last couple years, kind of licked their wounds,” Camarillo head coach Nate Anderson said of his team. “We have become battle-tested.”
With 146 players in the program, including 49 on varsity, the Scorpions are deep — nowhere more clearly than in the secondary where players like Jack Norton, Cruz Howe and Caden Clem are lurking.
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The damage done by a wave of outgoing transfers at Oak Park this offseason was blunted by the arrival of four-star quarterback Bryson Kennedy out of Texas and receiver Gary Ferguson from St. Bernard.
“It kind of swung the needle,” Oak Park head coach Casey Webb said of his incoming transfers. “At one point, we were down to like 25 kids on varsity.”
While Agoura and Oak Park start new transfer arms, quarterbacks who took their first varsity snaps last season like Buena’s Ryder Bucy and Oxnard’s Adrian Guerra will step into the limelight this fall.
“It was good for me to learn, to adjust, to work under pressure,” Guerra said of his experience last year. “It really built me as a player.”
At Camarillo, both Brad Barlow and Dylan Nicholson, whom Barlow took over from after he suffered a season-ending knee injury three games into the season, return.
Calabasas senior Dominik Hardy is the most experienced passer in the league, having thrown for nearly 4,500 career yards.
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“There is a lot of experience at key positions, which really helps us,” Calabasas head coach Cary Harris said. “Hopefully, the rest of the team and some of the younger guys can fuel off of that.”
Top returning players
- Finn Ward, Agoura: The reigning Tri-County League Lineman of the Year anchors the Chargers offensive line.
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- George Hastings, Agoura: The do-it-all senior could start anywhere on the field for the Chargers this season.
- Kingston Celifie, Calabasas: Blink and you will miss the UCLA-bound senior receiver.
- Dominik Hardy, Calabasas: The senior quarterback has passed for nearly 4,500 yards and 45 TDs in his high school career.
- Will Gelt, Agoura: The senior defensive end had 11 sacks in 13 games last season — best among all returning players.
- Nevada Ford, Oak Park: The senior running back piled up 1,051 total yards and 10 TDs last season.
- Jack Norton, Camarillo: The senior safety is at the heart of a talented Scorpions secondary.
- Alder Kubic, Oxnard: The senior multi-sport star moved from safety to linebacker this offseason.
- Ryder Bucy, Buena: The senior quarterback started three games last year and is now the full-time starter.
Newcomers to watch
- Bryson Kennedy, Oak Park: The highly-touted sophomore quarterback landed at Oak Park this offseason by way of Duncanville, Texas.
- Zayne Reed, Agoura: The three-star edge brings elite disruption to an already strong Chargers defensive front.
- Gary Ferguson, Oak Park: The basketball standout and former quarterback will play receiver after transferring in from St. Bernard.
- Kris Carranza, Agoura: The transfer quarterback out of Sierra Canyon will start for the Chargers.
- Nicholas Shannon, Oxnard: A transfer from Pacifica, the senior receiver will be a key playmaker in the Yellowjackets offense.
- Alex Severiano, Buena: The 6-foot-1 wideout opened eyes at passing tournaments this summer.
- Ryan Lovejoy, Calabasas: The sophomore cornerback transfer from Santa Monica will add depth to the Coyotes secondary.
Biggest departures
- Gavin Gray, Agoura: Washington State University’s newest quarterback passed for 3,520 yards and 49 TDs last fall.
- Tyler Starling, Agoura: Replacing the star wideout’s 56 catches for 1,158 yards and 14 TDs will be a challenge for the Chargers offense.
- Kayne Miller, Calabasas: The Coyotes offense ran through Miller, now at USC, who amassed 1,463 rushing yards and 20 total TDs.
- Shane Feller, Camarillo: The 6-foot, 210-pound wrecking ball churned out 1,106 of the Scorpions’ 1,409 total rushing yards last season.
- Jaxon Roberts, Buena: The running back rushed for 1,259 yards and 17 TDs on 188 carries and caught 34 passes for 336 yards and four TDs last season.
- Dezmyn Hardy, Calabasas: The older brother of starting quarterback Dominik Hardy scored 12 TDs and piled up 886 receiving yards last season.
- Grayson Auzat, Oak Park: Thrust into the limelight last fall, the dual-threat quarterback passed for 2,102 yards and 21 TDs and rushed for 604 yards and 11 scores.
Predicted order of finish:
- 1.Agoura: Fearsome line play and plenty of weapons around a new starting quarterback make the Chargers title favorites.
- 2. Camarillo: The Scorpions’ gifted secondary and depth put them within striking distance of a league crown.
- 3.Calabasas: Quarterback Dominik Hardy plus wideout Kingston Celifie equals deadly offense.
- 4. Oak Park: Big-name transfers at quarterback and receiver join an up-and-coming Eagles’ core.
- 5.Buena: The Bulldogs graduated every player that scored a TD last season except one.
- 6. Oxnard: The rebuild continues in Lonnie McCowan’s fourth year as head coach.
Dominic Massimino is a staff writer for The Star. He can be reached at dominic.massimino@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcsdominic on Twitter and Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Breaking down a new high school football league — the Coastal 101