Mistakes Cost Newbury Park, 28-7 : Football: Santa Barbara capitalizes on two turnovers to spoil a solid effort by the Panthers.

Newbury Park High’s football season came down to three critical mistakes Friday night, and Santa Barbara turned them into a 28-7 win in a Southern Section Division II quarterfinal game at Newbury Park.

Santa Barbara (11-1) will meet Canyon, a 28-14 winner over Westlake.

Santa Barbara used a 44-yard interception return by Bryan Stiles and Kerry Lawyer’s 63-yard punt return to turn a 7-0 Newbury Park lead into a 14-7 Santa Barbara advantage at halftime. In the second half, a Newbury Park fumble deep in its own territory was turned into a third Santa Barbara score.

“Three mistakes, three touchdowns, and we hang up our gear,” Newbury Park Coach George Hurley said.

Aside from those mishaps, the Panthers (7-3-2) played quality football.

They took a 7-0 lead on the game’s opening drive when Jason Sands capped an 80-yard drive with a one-yard run and Brad Hanson added the point-after. Newbury Park converted all three of its first downs, including a 26-yard pass from quarterback Jai Johnston to Shane Gallimore that gave the team a first down at Santa Barbara’s 21.

The Panthers had possession of the ball for 18 of the half’s 24 minutes and outgained Santa Barbara, 155-86. “We looked real good, but we just couldn’t sustain it,” Hurley said.

The demise began when Stiles grabbed Johnston’s pass on the Newbury Park 44 and sprinted to the end zone untouched with 10:03 left in the first half. George Rios’ kick tied the score, 7-7.

Newbury Park’s next mistake came less than three minutes later, when Lawyer took advantage of a missed Panther assignment for a 63-yard punt return that gave Santa Barbara the lead for good.

“Our contain man on the outside wasn’t there,” Hurley said. “That’s right where he broke the run.”

The defenses established control until the fourth quarter, when Santa Barbara capped a 34-yard drive with a five-yard scoring run by Lawyer, who had 82 yards in 17 carries. It was one of only two touchdowns allowed by the Panther defense, which limited explosive Santa Barbara--which averages 34 points a game--to 201 total yards. “Our defense, once again, played tremendous,” Hurley said.

But it couldn’t prevent the third mistake: Jeff Buchanan’s fumble at the Newbury Park 20 that was recovered by Chris Sanchez. Four plays later, Lawyer added his third touchdown, a three-yard run with 8:50 left.

Newbury Park tailback Walter Thomas rushed for 62 yards in 17 carries but was limited to two second-half yards. Johnston completed eight of 18 passes for 83 yards but threw three interceptions and was sacked five times. Sanchez had three sacks.