THOUSAND OAKS — Football coaches everywhere preach about setting the tone.
How about setting the tone as a new face in a locker room? Just weeks before the high school season kicked off, Agoura junior quarterback Kris Carranza was cleared to transfer from Sierra Canyon.
Carranza had to settle into a completely new environment at Agoura just weeks before the season and build new relationships with teammates he had just met. One way to do settle in is to play your game. Do what you do best. Carranza did just that on Friday night.
Carranza threw for over 300 yards and five passing touchdowns, leading the Agoura Chargers to a 33-0 win over the Thousand Oaks Lancers (1-2).
“Like, he didn’t get here till late,” Agoura coach Dustin Croick said. “It’s been a lot of thinking for him, and tonight I think by going back to what I said, of just doing what we do, he felt comfortable, and it’s clear what he did.”
On the second play on offense for Agoura (2-1), Carranza found junior receiver Anderson Mercer on a deep cross route over the middle for a 59-yard touchdown. He didn’t look back for the entire night.
But even when Carranza made mistakes, like fumbling in the second quarter and losing the ball. He was immediately reassured by teammates and quickly shook off the mistake. The rally behind him was evident, and the trust is already there in the locker room.
Agoura’s openness to welcoming Carranza has paid dividends. Trust is hard to earn, but it seems the team has already rallied behind him early in this season.
“I’d say the whole thing was tough,” Carranza said on transferring. “The whole team really just welcomed me, and the coaches [did as well].”
Carranza wasn’t the only one who dominated the game; senior Murphy Glynn made an impact on both offense and defense against Thousand Oaks (1-2). Glynn had five receptions for 85 yards and two touchdowns on offense and one interception on defense.
Glynn has been doing it for years within the Agoura program. Croick seems to have known this would be the year it all clicks for Glynn, and so far it seems like he’s right.
“I said at the beginning of the year, like, breakout star was going to be Murphy Glynn,” Croick said. “He’s been doing it since the sophomore year, like we’ve put him in every different position. He’s played linebacker, he’s played corner, he’s played safety, and then offensively, he’s always been kind of our guy that makes plays randomly.”
Coming off a blowout loss to Westlake, Agoura needed a bounce-back win. Croick preached throughout the week for his team to play their game. The message seemed to get through. It was all Chargers from the opening kickoff.
Croick hopes this is an important stepping stone for Agoura as they push through the middle of their schedule.
“We talked about it all week,” Croick said. “After a loss like that, like it is what it is. And we were so confident leading up to that game that they just need to get their confidence back. So we got it back tonight, and hopefully we can keep going every week.”