Fanning Flames of Emotion

Jim Benkert wanted his players to make the opposing coach eat his words.

But after watching his Westlake High football team whip Arroyo Grande, 41-28, in a Southern Section Division III quarterfinal Friday night, Benkert figured he could afford to swallow his pride.

Seconds after the final gun at Westlake, Benkert and Arroyo Grande Coach Jon Huss exchanged a handshake at midfield. Benkert initially had more in mind--like telling his counterpart where to get off.

Perhaps he should have thanked Huss for helping to motivate his players.

Huss this week was quoted in a San Luis Obispo County newspaper as saying the Warriors sometimes can be a cocky, taunting bunch. And no, Huss said, he wasn’t misquoted.

“We had seen some cheap shots on film and [their players] standing over people,” Huss said. “All I said was, in our area, that doesn’t go on.”

A friend of a Westlake player obtained a copy of the newspaper while spending Thanksgiving in San Luis Obispo.

“One of the coaches said, ‘Did you see the article?’ ” Benkert said. “I said, ‘What article?’ He showed it to me and I said, ‘Oh, my God! This guy is really mouthing off.’ ”

Benkert is no stranger to using bulletin-board material as motivation, and he saw no reason to make an exception this time.

“It’s hard for a high school coach to figure out ways to motivate week in and week out,” Benkert said. “For a big game, you gotta have big motivation.”

The coach capitalized by scribbling Huss’ remarks on a locker room chalkboard. Moreover, he promised his players he would hand-deliver the article to Huss--along with a piece of his mind--after the Warriors had won.

“It made me angry,” linebacker Bobby DeMars said. “If anything, we play as a team. No one is in this for their own glory. I always try to be aware about not saying things about the other team. I just try to say, ‘Yeah, they’re pretty good.’ ”

But when Benkert’s time came, the coach softened.

“I would never do that after a game,” Benkert said.

Saturday, Huss had simmered, too.

“I shook hands and everything is OK,” Huss said. “I said some complimentary things about their program in that article, as well. It was just a technique for them to motivate their kids. That’s high school football and that’s what makes it fun.”

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In blazing fashion, Jonathan Weems set single-season and career rushing records for Westlake on Friday night.

Weems, a senior running back, took a pitch in his own end zone and ran the length of the field for a 99-yard touchdown to break Jamal Harris’ season record of 1,264 yards set last year. Weems’ 168-yard performance raised his season total to 1,396 and his career total to 2,141, breaking Harris’ record of 2,057 yards.

Westlake quarterback Casey Preston is within striking distance of the school career passing record of 5,647 yards, set by his brother Todd from 1988-90.

Preston, a senior, owns the school career record for touchdown passes with 55, breaking his brother’s mark of 46.

Preston has passed for 4,739 yards entering Saturday’s Division III semifinal against Camarillo.

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Paul Chongkolnun’s season ended with a warm round of applause. Not exactly the way the junior special teams player for St. Francis High would have preferred to go out.

Saturday, Chongkolnun was jocular about his experience the night before, when he was loaded horizontally into an ambulance at the 20-yard line before a packed stadium at St. Francis.

Chongkolnun collided with a Camarillo player while trying to scoop up a rolling kickoff and lay virtually motionless for about 15 minutes. Paramedics immobilized Chongkolnun on a board and he was taken to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena.

Chongkolnun said he was treated for a mild concussion and released. He said he simply was shaken up on the play.

“I was fine, but they wouldn’t let me get up,” he said. “They wanted to take the proper precautions.

“I felt really bad because I was holding up the game so much and they had to do the ambulance thing.

“Not really the way you want to end your season.”

Indeed. Camarillo defeated St. Francis, 35-18.

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Two of the region’s top boys’ basketball teams won’t waste any time trying to lay claim to area supremacy.

Harvard-Westlake, defending state Division III champion and two-time Southern Section champion, plays host to Antelope Valley on Monday in a season opener.

Harvard-Westlake (30-2 last season) is ranked first in The Times’ regional preseason poll. Antelope Valley (18-8) is ranked third.