By Tyler Wainfeld
For The Signal
It wasn’t the season opener that the West Ranch Wildcats football team wanted to have — and not the type of performance that new head coach Sean O’Brien was hoping for.
Hosting the Harvard-Westlake Wolverines on Friday at Valencia High School, the Wildcats were down big early before succumbing to a 38-7 defeat in a game marred by personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.
“That was not West Ranch football,” O’Brien said. “I don’t know what more I can elaborate on that, but what bothered me the most about it was not so much execution — you can fix execution problems — it was a little bit effort, a little bit heart … They did outplay us, but they also outhearted us.”
The Wildcats (0-1) were in a big hole early, down 24-0 after the first quarter. It was nearly a shutout for the Wolverines (1-0), who were spoiled near the end when Wildcats junior Khalil Calhoun ran the ball 69 yards for the lone West Ranch score on the night.
O’Brien praised his backup running back, as well as senior captain Connor McIntosh for his play at both running back and linebacker. Senior Braylen Hensley and junior Jayden Rubalcalba, a lineman, both came away with interceptions on the night. Senior Charlie Samuelson had seven catches for 49 yards.
“We had individual flashes, but we didn’t have a team effort,” O’Brien said.
Prior to Calhoun’s 69-yard touchdown run, the Wildcats had only 61 yards of total offense.
Multiple shoving displays were seen after plays throughout the contest. It was unclear which side was starting the confrontations, but they negated big plays for both teams.
O’Brien said he wanted to see his players fix the character and heart that they showed as much as the execution troubles — but he knows that he can’t do it for them.
“Execution is easier to fix than heart,” O’Brien said. “Heart, they got to dig down deep and figure out what kind of team they actually want to be. Execution is stuff you can do on the field,you can do in the film room. Character is a little harder. Football doesn’t just build character; it also reveals it. And I don’t like what we revealed today.”
The Wolverines were led by senior Dylan Fullmer, who caught a touchdown and intercepted a pass for a touchdown. Both of those came in the first quarter that saw the Wolverines seemingly moving the ball at will on offense.
Senior Aaryan Mehdi Williams had two touchdown passes for the Wolverines.
O’Brien praised the Wolverines for being able to execute their game plan.
“They didn’t do anything that we didn’t know they were going to do,” O’Brien said. “They just did it very well.”
It was a return to the hustle and bustle of Friday night lights for O’Brien, who previously helmed the Wildcats from 2009 to 2012, amassing an 18-23 record in that time and taking the Wildcats to their first-ever playoff appearance. He had been the freshman coach at West Ranch before taking the job for this season.
“I’d say I’ve had better nights, so I didn’t enjoy it as much as I might have,” O’Brien said. “But no, the game’s a beautiful game. It’s wonderful being with these kids, even if they didn’tnecessarily produce today.”
The Wildcats will look to reverse their fortunes when they travel to Santa Barbara next Friday to take on the Bishop Diego Cardinals.
