Former Dallas Cowboys head coach and current FOX football analyst Jimmy Johnson once said: "In order to talk the talk, you need to walk the walk."

Royal High's wrestling team has done both this season.

Last month, in a Simi Valley Acorn article, Royal senior Sergio Cortez boldly stated, "To me, league is already done with. In my mind, we've already won league."

Prior to Thursday's Marmonte League matches, no one had proven Cortez wrong.

The Highlanders, who've won five straight league titles, opened with an overall record of 6-3, 2-0 in league.

Many Marmonte coaches are quick to admit that Royal is once again the cream of the crop.

"They haven't won anything yet," Simi Valley head coach Guy Greene said. "But, realistically, if I were a betting man, I'd say on paper they are the team that is expected to win."

Moorpark first-year head coach Tony Knight agreed.

"Some schools produce good football teams," Knight said. "Some schools produce good baseball teams. Royal is known for their good wrestling teams."

Two reasons the Highlanders have been successful are the wrestling of senior captains Blake Ginsburg (140 pounds), Matt Rulon (189), Mike Dumelle (145) and Cortez (152).

Royal head coach Rich Carrillo has been pleased with the team's strong start, but believes the best is yet to come.

"It seems we haven't been at full strength even once," Carrillo said. "A couple of our wrestlers have been banged up with football injuries. Once we get our team fully loaded, we're going to be extremely tough competitors."

Royal's biggest obstacle in league may be Simi Valley.

Although the Pioneers lost CIF champion Chris Barr to graduation, Agoura head coach Dennis Ritterbush believes the Pioneers will be very competitive.

"Simi has a good team, and with Greene as their coach I wouldn't be surprised if it came down to the wire with Royal's match against them during the last week of the season," Ritterbush said.

Simi Valley, which started 1-1 in league, has had stellar performances on the mat from seniors John Moore (152), Kyle Armour (125) and Tim McAnany (heavyweight), as well as juniors Blade Dyer (119), Erik Hasan (160) and Kyle Hasan (171). Freshman Shane Murphy (103) has also done well.

By winning 11 of its first 12 matches, including a pair of league victories, Thousand Oaks is hot on Royal's trail.

Considering the Lancers graduated 18 seniors, TOHS head coach Kerry Lyne said he's been surprised with the squad's earlyseason results.

"We're doing a lot better than I expected us to do," Lyne said. "Coming into the season, I didn't know what to expect, since we were so young. I was actually a little worried."

Top grapplers for TOHS include juniors Behdod Katebian (125), Brandon Jensen (189) and Jeff Gideon (heavyweight), as well as seniors Eric Lawson (160), Ethan Clifford (145), Cameron Kanney (140) and Johnny Herrera (171).

Senior Bronson Lobato is 8-2, but he dislocated his elbow and isn't expected to return until at least league finals, according to Lyne.

Agoura is another contender.

No team from the Marmonte has been able to stop Royal, but Charger senior John Combs did his best to quiet Cortez by pinning him in the second period in a league match last month.

"Combs is our vocal team leader," Ritterbush said. "He keeps everyone on the right track. Over the summer he probably did more work than any other two of our wrestlers combined. It's showed."

Seniors Joey Skinner (145) and Justin Crane (125), as well as juniors Ben Wolhaupter (140), Michael Kairouz (152) and freshman P.J. Press (103) have also contributed for the Chargers.

Agoura also has one of the top female wrestlers in the state, sophomore Maria Jimenez (125).

Other teams fighting for respect include Moorpark, Westlake, Calabasas and Newbury Park.

Although Calabasas only features two seniors on its 51-man roster, the Coyotes opened 5-2 overall, 1-1 in league. Head coach Andy Falk has been impressed with the way his young squad has competed.

"Some of the hardest working kids on our team are sophomores," Falk said. "They're making a lot of progress and are really motivated. We might surprise some people this year, but next year should be quite amazing."

Some of the Coyotes' top sophomores include Patrick Seymour (112), Kieran MacIntyre (135) and Kiyan Afshar (125). Junior Max Dornfest (152) and seniors Randy Horowitz (160) and Alex Melancon (215) have also performed well.

Moorpark began 0-2 in league but has had quality efforts from juniors Andrew Nelinger (171) and Collin Bedwell (145), as well as freshmen Ryan Thompson (119) and Tyler McManus.

The Musketeers' top wrestler, however, is junior Saul Garcia.

Garcia, "pretty much dedicates his life to wrestling," Knight, the head coach, said. "He went to some camps in Minnesota over the summer, and it's helped with his technical skills."

Newbury Park, a recent bottom-feeder in the league, seems to be headed down the right path under the direction of second-year coach Gary Murphy. The Panthers started 6-15 overall, 1-1 in league.

"We're growing in the manner that we're starting to create a wrestling family here," Murphy said. "We had about 10 wrestlers participate in the offseason program, and that's helped us a lot."

Sophomores Miguel Guardado (152) and Zach Downard (103), along with juniors Tim Stone (140), Josh Smith (heavyweight) and Nelson Duarte, have shown glimpses of a bright future.

Hugo Nakono (135) has provided leadership as a senior.

Westlake returns twotime Masters qualifier Jason Villavisencio (112), but the majority of the Warriors' roster consists of strong sophomores such as Jake Snyder (160) and Shane Laguna (171).

Because of the team's youth, head coach John Cuccia feels Westlake is a year or two away.