By Evan Barnes

Note: This team includes players from CIF Southern Section schools in Ventura/Santa Barbara/San Luis Obispo counties and may include Marmonte League teams in cities that border Los Angeles County.

There may be no bigger story in Southern California heading into the 2010 prep football season than the expansion of the Marmonte League, the new “super league” that could rival the CIF Southern Section’s Serra and Trinity League in competitive depth.

For years, fans have wanted to see region powers St. Bonaventure (Ventura, Calif.) and Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, Calif.) join tougher leagues after dominating the Tri-Valley and Channel Leagues for the past decade. They’ll now get their wish as the two teams, along with defending CIFSS Northern Division champ Westlake (Westlake Village, Calif.), will battle in highly anticipated league games.

It’s no surprise that all three schools are well represented on the preseason CIFSS All-Ventura/Santa Barbara County/San Luis Obispo team chosen by Cal-Hi Sports.

The realignment means Oaks Christian will not only have to play St. Bonaventure in league play, but will have to win the tougher Northern Division title in order to be eligible for a state bowl game. And if the Lions do get that far, they have to go for a berth in Division I instead of Division III.

With all the hoopla surrounding the two new teams, the team that is really motivated is Westlake, which finished 14-0 last year but was shut out of a CIF state bowl game.

Heading into the season, the Warriors return nearly all of their key parts. Leading the way is senior quarterback Nick Isham (2,128 yards and 30 touchdowns), wide receiver Nelson Spruce (1,325 yards and 18 touchdowns) and junior defensive end Justin Solis.

Before the Warriors worry about any state bowl game aspirations of their own, however, they’ll have to survive a brutal nine-team league where programs such as Moorpark (Moorpark, Calif.) and Thousand Oaks (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) also can’t be overlooked.

The teams in the Southern California’s new super league love to pass and they may not “beat each other up” like teams in the Trinity League or the old Citrus Belt League, but fans in the region are excited there will be plenty more games that won’t be decided before halftime.

2010 Preseason All-CIFSS
Ventura/Santa Barbara/San Luis Obispo Football Team

First Team Offense
WR Blair Holliday (Oaks Christian, Westlake Village) 6-2, 185, Sr.
WR Nelson Spruce (Westlake, Westlake Village) 6-2, 190, Sr.
TE Dillon van der Wal (Oaks Christian, Westlake Village) 6-7, 235 Sr.
OL Albert Cervantes (Oxnard) 6-1, 215, Sr.
OL Jonathan Miller (Morro Bay) 6-3, 275 Jr.
OL Albert Miranda (Hueneme, Oxnard) 6-3, 285, Sr.
OL Cole Thompson (Paso Robles) 6-1, 245, Sr.
OL Matt Spencer (St. Joseph’s, Santa Maria) 6-1, 303, Sr.
QB Nick Isham (Westlake, Westlake Village) 5-11, 170, Sr.
RB Vance Cramer (San Luis Obispo) 6-1, 190, Sr.
RB Tavior Mowry (Westlake, Westlake Village) 5-7, 175, Sr.
K Alex Ball (Westlake, Westlake Village) 6-3, 200, Jr.

First Team Defense
DL Mershad Dillon (Santa Maria) 6-1, 240, Sr.
DL Spencer Ruggles (Atascadero) 6-0, 215, Sr.
DL Justin Solis (Westlake, Westlake Village) 6-3, 275, Jr.
LB Nick Butier (San Luis Obispo) 6-2, 215, Sr.
LB David Katz (Paso Robles) 5-10, 165, Jr.
LB Cody Kurz (St. Bonaventure, Ventura) 6-3, 235, Sr.
LB Max Winsberg (Westlake, Westlake Village) 5-11, 190, Sr.
DB Marcus Alford (Rio Mesa, Oxnard) 5-9, 150, Sr.
DB Brian Fifita (Oaks Christian, Westlake Village) 5-10, 175, Sr.
DB Jalen Jefferson (St. Bonaventure, Ventura) 6-2, 202, Sr.
DB Troy Norris (Atascadero) 5-9, 175, Sr.
P Zach Hoffmann (Thousand Oaks) 6-1, 200, Sr.

First Team Multi-Purpose
RB/TE/LB Tyler Gray (Templeton) 6-3, 210, Sr.
DB/RB/WR Scott Koen (Santa Clara, Oxnard) 6-0, 190, Sr.
WR/DB Richard Mullaney (Thousand Oaks) 6-3, 190, Sr.
WR/DB Jordan Payton (Oaks Christian, Westlake Village) 6-2, 190, Jr.
WR/DB Chase Smith (Buena, Ventura) 6-1, 180, Sr.
WR/DB Elias Stokes (Paso Robles) 5-10, 160 Jr.

Second Team Offense/Defense
QB/RB/DB Avondre Bollar (Thousand Oaks) 5-11, 180, Sr.
DL Bo Bonnheim (Paso Robles) 6-2, 2220, Sr.
DB Garrett Coleman (Arroyo Grande) 5-8, 150, Jr.
LB Terrell Dillon (Santa Maria) 5-10, 215, Sr.
WR/DB Dakota Dunlea (Newbury Park) 6-3, 200, Sr.
QB Jake Geringer (Newbury Park) 6-3, 215, Sr.
QB Trevor Gretzky (Oaks Christian, Westlake Village) 6-4, 190, Sr.
WR Zach McClain (Santa Paula) 5-11, 180, Sr.
LB Robert Palmer (Santa Barbara) 6-2, 192, Sr.
DL Chris Reed (Nipomo) 6-3, 255 Sr.
LB Wesley Rowell (Agoura, Agoura Hills) 5-10, 190, Sr.
TE Jeremiah Valoaga (Channel Islands, Oxnard) 6-6, 200, Jr.
LB Dominic Woods (Morro Bay) 5-9, 180, Sr.

Comments or corrections? Email mark@studentsports.com.