Injuries Hurting Calabasas' Summer Progress

The injury bug has bitten the Calabasas High football team often this summer, but the battered unit has managed to persevere.  

The Coyotes have put forth several solid efforts despite the numerous setbacks they've encountered along the way, and the Conejo Valley Classic over the weekend was the latest 7-on-7 tournament that Calabasas attended at less than full strength.  

"It's tough to compete when you have so many key players missing from the lineup,'' Calabasas coach Larry Edwards said. "Overall, I came away pleased with our efforts. The kids went out there and gave it their all. That's all you can ask for.''  

The two-day tournament was held on Friday and Saturday afternoon at three local high schools - Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks and Westlake.  

The Coyotes opened up play against Oxnard Hueneme and had games against Ojai Nordhoff and familiar foe Simi Valley Royal shortly thereafter. Ultimately, Calabasas failed to qualify for the winner's bracket on Saturday morning.  

Quarterback Kyle Zion did play well for the Coyotes. The 6-foot senior appeared comfortable directing the offense for Calabasas, often times finding Alex Varonos and Brandon Marin roaming relatively free in the opponent's secondary.  

"Having Kyle around makes all the difference in the world,'' Edwards said. "He has a good grasp on things. He knows what we like and want to do out there.''  

But lining up without running backs Ronnie Gutierrez, Joseph Ramos and Gali Edwards proved to be a daunting task for Zion in the end.  Another one of his main targets, tight end Shane Bick, was also unavailable.  

On the defensive side of things, linebacker Lee Sobel and cornerbacks Alex Griffin and Lex Robbins were out as well.

The absences hurt against powerhouse programs such as Oaks Christian and Newbury Park.  

"We were hoping that this tournament would give us a good gauge of where we need to be moving forward, for the rest of the summer and once the regular season starts down the road.'' Edwards said. "But with all the injuries we've sustained recently, it's really hard to an accurate account of what we have around here.''  

Calabasas' Marmonte League rivals Thousand Oaks and Westlake ended up meeting in the championship game on Saturday and the Lancers narrowly defeated Westlake, 30-26, to take the tournament title.  

"Coming in, we knew that this passing tournament was going to be tough on our kids given our difficult situation,'' Edwards said. "But once we get healthy, things will, hopefully, be different. It's just a matter of time.''  

The Coyotes will be looking to turn things around over the next couple of weeks in the Rio Mesa tournament on July 10 and the Agoura tournament on July 17. "Things can only get better,'' Edwards said.