Viewpoint Pleased With Performance at Football Scrimmage

After winning a total of three football games over the past three seasons, Viewpoint School’s team is eager to improve, and the Patriots were happy with their performance Friday in an opening three-way scrimmage with St. Bernard’s of Playa del Rey and host Malibu.

Viewpoint, 2-6-1 in coach Chris Adamson’s first season last year, open Friday at Mater Dei in Chula Vista, and the coach believes he has done just the right amount of fine-tuning.

Viewpoint starters Adam Markun, Dakota Williams, David Cutler and Michael Hagopian were held out of the scrimmage for precautionary reasons because of minor injuries, and the team still looked good.

“We played well despite having four starters out,” Adamson said. “But other guys stepped up, and we feel better about both our depth. The competition for playing time at a few spots is going to make us better.”

John DiLuigi, a top defensive coordinator who formerly coached at CIF State Div. I Bowl Canyon and Alemany, appears to making an impact because Viewpoint’s defensive play was a scrimmage highlight.

“I was very pleased with our run defense defense against St. Bernard’s at both the varsity and JV level, and our also pass defense at the varsity level,” Adamson said.

The offensive line appears to be coming along, too.

“We protected the passer pretty well for the most part all day,” Adamson said.

And there were no new injuries, and that might have been the best thing about the scrimmage.

“We came out pretty healthy with 70 plays of live football under our belt between the varsity and JV,” Adamson said.

Markun, who was Viewpoint’s star player as a sophomore last season when he gained more than 1,000 rushing, is primed for another big season, and he has a talented backfield mate in Williams, a transfer from Alemany.

“We played better than I’ve ever seen us play against a good team like St. Bernard’s,” Markun said. “And that was without four starters. We’re looking forward to a great season.”

CALABASAS BASKETBALL ASSISTANT REMAINS IN COMA

There is no change in the condition of Joe Frazier, the Calabasas High boys basketball assistant coach who remains in a coma at Northridge Hospital after a collision Thursday on his motorcycle with an SUV, as reported by Patch on Sunday.

Head coach Jon Palarz has been visiting the hospital regularly and has remained in close contact with family members, and the coach said Tuesday there is no change.

“He’s still in a coma and still in intensive care,” Palarz said.

Frazier, 28, was driving on Ventura Boulevard in Tarzana when he was struck by the SUV. The driver of the SUV allegedly fled the scene and has yet to be indentified, Palarz said.

Frazier has been a Calabasas assistant coach for one year, and has strong ties to the basketball community by working as a private coach and also running a summer basketball camp in Pasadena.