SOUTHERN SECTION FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS : Gershon’s Happiness Measured in Hugs

Was there anyone in attendance Joel Gershon didn’t hug after Channel Islands High put the squeeze on Thousand Oaks, 27-7, Friday night to earn a share of the Marmonte League title?

The popular Channel Islands coach is well-known for doling out warm fuzzies by the armload. But watching his Raiders snap a 3-game losing streak to Thousand Oaks and embrace the league’s No. 1 position in the Division II playoffs triggered an all-out hug-a-thon at the 50-yard line.

“During the course of him answering one question, I’d say 20 people came up for hugs,” said Paul Olson, who covered the game for The Times. “His wife and daughters, his parents, former players, current players . . . “

Current players like Donny Mays and Rod Jones, who help form perhaps the best secondary in Ventura County. And current players like Jose Montelongo, Russell Edwards and Larry Pearson, who help form an offensive line that opens holes for John Johnson and Jerry Williams, both 1,000-yard rushers.

But hugs could turn to shrugs Friday unless Channel Islands (8-2 overall, 5-1 in league play) is prepared to face Palmdale (7-3, 3-2), an explosive team that finished third in the Golden League.

How good is Palmdale? Well, Canyon Coach Harry Welch described the Falcons as “The most talented team I’ve seen since I began coaching.” Of course, Welch is as given to hyperbole as Gershon is to hugs. But Palmdale, which has lost only to Crespi, Antelope Valley and Canyon, should offer Channel Islands a severe test.

The Falcons’ John Lowry has coached at Nevada Las Vegas and Northern Arizona, so it is little wonder that Gershon describes Palmdale as “having a college-type offense.” Tailback LaShante Parker has rushed for 928 yards and receiver Shannon Culver has 41 receptions.

There are several other interesting first-round Division II match-ups Friday night at 7:30.

Marmonte co-champion Thousand Oaks (6-3-1) travels to Ventura High to play Buena (8-2), which whipped Oxnard, 35-15, last week to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 1981.

Top-seeded Santa Barbara (10-0, 6-0), the Channel League champion, plays host to Beverly Hills (7-3), which was selected over Oxnard for the division’s at-large berth. Beverly Hills finished fourth in the Bay League.

Camarillo (4-6), the Marmonte third-place team, visits Golden League champion Canyon (8-2).

Want an underdog to root for? Watch Buena, under first-year Coach Rick Scott. The victory over Oxnard completed the transformation of a 2-8 team into one that combines a state-of-the-art passing attack with an improving running game and a defense that forces bushels of turnovers.

Thousand Oaks played a role in Buena’s maturation and is in a position to measure the Bulldogs’ growth. Buena defeated the Lancers, 12-9, in September, holding them on fourth down from the 2-yard-line with 20 seconds left. The Bulldogs have believed in themselves--and Scott--since.

“That was definitely a confidence builder for us,” said Scott, who guided Hart to 4 Foothill League titles in as many tries before coming to Buena. “And it gave substance to the things I was telling them. That they could win.”

And now?

“Against Oxnard, we were a fine-tuned machine,” Scott said.

Three Division VIII first-round games pit Frontier League teams against Santa Fe League teams. Frontier champion Santa Clara (10-0) and Tim Gutierrez, the state’s most accurate passer, play host to Mary Star of the Sea (6-4), the Santa Fe’s third-place team.

Frontier runner-up Santa Paula (8-2) travels to St. Monica (9-1), which finished second in the Santa Fe after missing 3 point-after attempts in a 19-18 loss to El Segundo last week.

Third-place Frontier finisher Agoura (6-3-1) visits El Segundo (10-1), the Santa Fe champion. At-large selection Santa Ynez (6-4), which finished fourth in its first year in the Frontier League, visits Atascadero (10-0), the Los Padres League champion.

In first-round Division IX games, Tri-Valley League champion Carpinteria (8-2) plays host to Southern California Christian (6-2), a free-lance team; and Oak Park (9-1), the Tri-Valley second-place team, visits Alpha League co-champion Montclair Prep (6-4).