Final thoughts on Westlake

Westlake's season may have ended in a rout, but you have to give the Warriors a ton of credit for the season they put together after going 3-7. I spoke with Westlake principal Richard Urias on the sidelines late in the game. The game well out of reach, but Urias was still beaming about his team.

``I've never been more proud of a team than this one,'' he said. ``I'm more proud of these guys than any of our championship teams. They are a true band of brothers.''

Former quarterback Rudy Carpenter was on the sidelines as well.

``I spoke to coach (Jim) Benkert before the season and asked how the team was going to be and he didn't know if they were going to be that good,'' Carpenter recalled. ``For them to go 12-1 is pretty amazing. These were just a bunch of average guys who played together as a team. You have to give them a lot of credit.''

Carpenter played on the last Westlake team to go 12-0. That was 2003. In the years in between, the Warriors have fallen on hard times. He wasn't surprised Benkert was able to right the ship though.

``He know what he needs them to do and they do it,'' Carpenter said. `` He's a great coach.''