Football: Was the kick really good in Westlake-Agoura game?

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Jim Benkert, the football coach at Westlake High, watched video Saturday from his team’s 23-22 loss to Agoura the night before and concluded that his kicker, Stephen Murphy, should have been credited for making a game-winning 41-yard field goal with 13 seconds left.

Instead, the officials ruled the kick was no good after the ball supposedly hit the crossbar and bounced back onto the field.

But video from an end zone camera showed that the ball hit the middle gooseneck bar that supports the crossbar — from behind — and holds up the crossbar before bouncing back toward the field.

“It was a million-to-one shot,” Benkert said.

It was another strange ending for an Agoura-Westlake game in a series of bizarre conclusions. In 2004, Westlake won on the game’s final play by returning a kickoff with multiple laterals. In 2006, Westlake won in double overtime when Agoura’s running back fumbled while headed into the end zone.

Agoura Coach Charlie Wegher, when told of the video, said, “We’ve lost a couple of controversial calls, so it was Westlake’s turn.”

It was Agoura’s first victory over Westlake in football since 1995.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Here’s a copy of the video: