Joseph A. Garcia / Star staff Oaks Christian quarterback Tony Macarena participates in a 7-on-7 passing league practice. Macarena transferred from St. Bonaventure.

Tony Macarena has changed schools, swapped uniforms and, really, ended up in exactly the same place.

Oh, the location is different. The team colors? The school anthem? They're brand new, too.

But the hopes, dreams and, most significantly, expectations remain precisely the same.

"I don't care about personal numbers at all," says Macarena. "All I want to do is win. My hope is that we go 10-0 in the regular season, and finish 15-0 overall. That would give us the state championship."

A year ago, Macarena played quarterback for the powerhouse St. Bonaventure High football squad that finished 14-1, earned the CIF-Southern Section Northern Division title and won the CIF Division III state championship.

Come the fall, he'll be the starting quarterback for Oaks Christian School and the Lions' expectations are high enough to touch the Mars Rover.

"We're going to be pretty good," Macarena acknowledges. "There's a lot of talent on this team."

The surprise fit might be Macarena behind center.

It was last Sept. 22, in the second ballyhooed matchup in two years between Oaks Christian and St. Bonaventure, that the 6-foot, 215-pounder played most of the game in the Seraphs' 43 victory.

While senior running back Darrell Scott was the principal weapon, Macarena efficiently completed 9 of 11 passes for 102 yards and a two-point conversion.

Little could he know four months later he would enroll at Oaks Christian.

"I wouldn't have believed it," he said.

While St. Bonaventure piled up wins, Macarena's own happiness quota went down.

He lost the starting job midway through the season to Casey Serna, but said the decision to transfer had more to do with comfort than playing time.

Macarena said he struggled with the loss of former head coach Jon Mack, who resigned after the 2006 season to become the head coach at Ventura College. Longtime assistant Todd Therrien became the head coach.

"It wasn't the same for me after coach Mack left," said Macarena. "I wanted to be somewhere I was comfortable."

Apparently, he's found it at Oaks Christian.

Macarena, who lives with his family in Oxnard, enrolled at the Westlake Village school in January, settled into his new classes and set about earning his spot on the Lions' football team.

Mission accomplished.

Last year's starter, Chris Potter, has graduated and gone on to Boise State. Quarterback Anthony Vitto, a junior last season, has transferred.

Macarena, with the opening, has seized the starting job during the Lions' summer schedule.

It was Macarena's steady play during the Saugus 7-on-7 passing league tournament on June 21 that officially earned him the starting nod.

Oaks Christian won the championship, knocking off highly regarded Long Beach Poly in the semifinals and Canyon in the finals.

"We were going to wait until we broke for our July 4th break, but we decided to name the starter right after the Saugus tournament," said Oaks Christian coach Bill Redell. "He earned it with his play.

"(Macarena) has great leadership skills and a great deal of experience. He knows he doesn't have to win football games by himself. We need our quarterback not to lose the game."

Macarena, of course, was thrilled with the news.

"It's very exciting," Macarena said. "It's great to be here, and it's great to earn the trust of the coaches and my teammates. They know I'm going to work hard."

Macarena acknowledged it was a crucial summer.

Not only did he need to prove to his new teammates he could play, but also that he could lead.

"I felt like it was really important for me to play well in the passing tournaments," he said. "They (the Lions) wanted to see how I would respond under pressure. They wanted to see how I would do against great competition. Now they know."

Macarena believes his background with St. Bonaventure eased the transition to Oaks Christian.

"I've played in big games," he said. "I've been there before. I know what to expect."

It helps to have an engaging personality. Macarena said he focused on winning over his teammates.

"I wanted to get to know these guys as well as I could," he said. "It wasn't just a matter of coming in and playing football. As a quarterback, I wanted to come in and bond with all the players."

In two seasons at St. Bonaventure, including a starting role as a sophomore, Macarena threw for 2,229 yards and 20 touchdowns. As a 10th grader, he went 121 of 198 for 1,496 yards and 15 touchdowns.

The numbers should be comparable next year with an array of skill players that include running back Malcolm Jones and wide receiver Brian Owusu.

But Macarena, who is receiving interest from such programs as Colorado, Wake Forest and Utah, said winning is the priority.

"It doesn't matter how many yards I get in a game," he said. "All I want to do is win."