Oftentimes, the wounded animal is the most dangerous.

After an emotional 25-20 loss to Oak Park last week, the Oaks Christian School football team rebounded and returned to form of recent past with a 48-0 blowout of Tri-Valley League rival Grace Brethren at Moorpark College on Friday night.

Quarterback Chris Potter combined for four Oaks Christian touchdowns, sophomore tailback Malcolm Jones rushed for 143 yards and a score on just nine carries and the Lions had a 28-point second quarter en route to the team's highest scoring total since the season's opener.

With the win and Nordhoff's victory over Oak Park, Oaks Christian (5-3) moved into a second-place tie in the Tri-Valley League at 2-1. Grace Brethren fell to 4-4, 1-2. Oaks Christian will play at first-place Nordhoff next Friday at 7:30 p.m. Grace Brethren will hope to rebound next week at Carpinteria.

"We have a pretty good football team, but we haven't really finished games like we're capable of doing," said Oaks Christian coach Bill Redell. "I wasn't surprised by anything we did tonight. I think the kids are starting to get better and believe in themselves. I think we were more consistent tonight."

Before Oaks Christian could finish, it had to start. Potter led his offense on a 63-yard scoring drive on its opening possession, capped by his own 24-yard touchdown run.

Two possessions later, Jones picked off Grace Brethren quarterback Kevin Ramay and put Potter in position for another touchdown run, this one from 19 yards out.

The touchdown was the first of four consecutive Oaks Christian scoring drives to finish the second quarter. Potter later hit wideout Peter Weber for a 35-yard touchdown and Jason Miguel for a 28-yard score in the half's closing seconds.

Potter completed 6 of 10 passes for 134 yards and no interceptions. Weber was the leading receiver with three catches for 68 yards.

Not only was the consistency apparent on offense, but the Oaks Christian defense was a consistent nuisance to Grace Brethren and its potent passing attack.

The defense, giving up 22 points per game in 2007, shut out a Grace Brethren offense averaging 28 points per game and limited Ventura County's leading receiver Travis Sproat to two catches for 12 yards. Grace Brethren quarterback Kevin Ramay, the county's second most productive passer, was limited to eight completions for 65 yards and three interceptions.

Anchored by defensive linemen Dominick Denham and Christopher Coyle, Oaks Christian sacked Ramay six times for total loss of 37 yards, forced two fumbles and never allowed Grace Brethren inside the Lions' 20-yard line.

"Defensive coordinator (Clay) Matthews put together a plan to put a lot of pressure on him (Ramay), and he had to hurry his throws when he wasn't pressured," said coach Redell after his team's first shutout of 2007. "He's really a great quarterback, but it's hard to throw from your back."

Oaks Christian 48, Grace Brethren 0

Tri-Valley League

Oaks Christian 7 28 6 7—48

Grace Brethren 0 0 0 0— 0

First quarter

OC — Potter 24 run (Lee kick), 8:01.

Second quarter

OC — Potter 19 run (Lee kick), 11:42.

OC — Weber 35 pass from Potter (Lee kick), 9:04.

OC — Jones 56 run (Lee kick), 7:48.

OC — Miguel 28 pass from Potter (Lee kick), 0:18.

Third quarter

OC — Morrison 6 run (kick failed), 0:16.

Fourth quarter

OC — Napolitano 52 interception return (Lee kick), 11:46.

Teams Stats: OC GB

First downs 18 11

Rushes-yards 36-290 29-136

Passing yards 147 65

Comp-Att-Int 7-11-0 8-29-3

Sacks-yards lost 1-12 6-37

Punts-avg. 4 4-27.8

Fumbles-lost 2-1 2-1

Penalties-yards 6-70 3-30

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Oaks Christian: Landseadel 11-24, Jones 9-134, Potter 3-44, Morrison 12-62, Vitto 2-17. Grace Brethren: Curnel 2-16, Ramay 12-64, Skinner 13-56, Leffler 1-0, Sproat 1-(—4).

PASSING — Oaks Christian: Potter 6-10-0-134, Kempf 1-1-0-13. Grace Brethren: Ramay 8-29-3-65.

RECEIVING — Oaks Christian: Coyle 2-52, Weber 3-68, Landseadel 2-8, Miguel 1-28. Grace Brethren: Sproat 2-12, Curnel 2-12, Ellis 1-12, Skinner 2-14, Penich 1-15.

MISSED FIELD GOALS — Oaks Christian: Lee 29.

TEAM RECORDS — Oaks Christian 5-3, 2-1; Grace Brethren 4-4, 1-2.