Area schools carry the weight of three of the longest streaks in state history into the 2007 high school football season.

Moorpark, a section runner-up the last two years, opens the season tonight at 7 at home against Mayfair.

Oaks Christian's 46-game winning streak is tied for the longest in section history and ranks fourth on the all-time state list, according to CalHiSports.com.

Winner of four consecutive section titles, Oaks Christian can tie Santa Rosa Cardinal Newman, the program the Lions beat in overtime for the 2006 Division III state title, for third place by winning its season opener at home against Lompoc on Friday.

Calabasas is tied for the fourth longest losing streak in state history. The Coyotes have dropped 42 consecutive games. Moorpark owns the state record with 46 straight losses from 1977 to 1982.

The schedule is unkind to Calabasas. After opening the season Sept. 7 at home against El Camino Real, Calabasas is on the road for four consecutive games.

St. Bonaventure, which enters the season as the state's No. 1-ranked team by CalHiSports.com, brings county records of 173 consecutive games scoring, 11 straight league championships and 46 straight league wins into the season.

But the Seraphs will be without the architect of the program's seven section championship seasons. Jon Mack, the winningest high school football coach in Ventura County history with 163 victories, resigned last spring to become the head coach at Ventura College.

Fillmore and Santa Clara ended two streaks last season when they tied Bishop Diego for the Frontier League title. Fillmore had gone 23 years without a football league title, while Santa Clara (10-3) had a winning season for the first time in 16 years.

Favored to repeat as league champions are Westlake (Marmonte), St. Bonaventure (Channel), Rio Mesa (Pacific View), Oaks Christian (Tri-Valley) and Santa Clara (Frontier).

One of the premier non-league games finds a Sept. 21 rematch between Oaks Christian and St. Bonaventure at Larrabee Stadium.

The intensity for the rematch has toned down significantly.

Last year, Oaks Christian and St. Bonaventure brought 33- and 27-game winning streaks, national rankings and the attention that comes with it to a sold-out stadium. Oaks Christian won 59-13, handing St. Bonaventure its biggest loss in decades.

One thing that hasn't changed is the game's significance.

The winner will gain an edge in early polls for the 2007 Division III state bowl game.

There are six new area head coaches: Mike Leibin (Thousand Oaks), Lance Martin (Calabasas), Todd Therrien (St. Bonaventure), Steve Ruedaflores (Hueneme), Matt Dollar (Fillmore) and Matt Hoefler (Grace Brethren).

Therrien was a longtime assistant and defensive coordinator under Mack.

The program blueprint remains in place, said Therrien, although "some of the individual things have changed."

Therrien brought in Steve Chase to run St. Bonaventure's conditioning program. "He has been exceptional all summer," said Therrien.

Mack's one-year-old record for career wins by a county football coach may not last long.

Westlake coach Jim Benkert has 149 wins, including a 12-game winning streak to open the 2006 season. Benkert needs six wins to pass former Rio Mesa coach John Reardon for third place. Right behind Benkert on the all-time county list is Nordhoff's Cliff Farrar (141 victories).

Once again, collegiate recruiters have turned their attention on area players.

Right at the top of their lists is St. Bonaventure running back Darrell Scott. The Moorpark transfer enters the season with 5,182 career yards and 64 touchdowns. Scott is within 2,818 yards of becoming only the third back in state history with 8,000 career yards. He is rated as high as No. 2 on national recruitings lists.

Among the blue-chip schools pursuing Scott are USC, Florida State, Texas, UCLA, North Carolina, Penn State and LSU.

As many as two dozen area athletes could commit to Division I football programs before the 2007 season is over.

Other top prospects include: Langston Jackson (Simi Valley), Vaughn Dotsy and Ryan Panapa (St. Bonaventure), Chris Owusu and Trace Biskin (Oaks Christian), Quentin Greenlaw and Ina Liaina (Rio Mesa), Colby Cameron (Newbury Park) and Randi Vines (Santa Clara).

Eight-man football in Ventura County will welcome a new member.

Thanks to seed money from its student association, Ojai Valley School has become the fifth Condor League school to start a football program over the last six years.

That increases the number of area eight-man football programs to nine.

It was only four seasons ago that Villanova was playing eight-man football.

The Ojai private school made a major leap last fall, moving into the Frontier League. Until the final week of the season, Villanova was in contention for one of the league's playoff spots.

The success of Villanova and Santa Clara, which ended a streak of 16 consecutive losing seasons with a 10-3 record and a share of the Frontier League championship, has generated enough fan interest for school officials to move home games to other sites.

Villanova will play some home games at Nordhoff and Carpinteria this season, while Santa Clara will use Hueneme and Pacifica for two home games.