Newbury Park Gets the Points Across

Leodes Van Buren pointed a finger and . Keith Smith threw a spiral.

Together the players led Newbury Park High to a 36-31 victory over rival Thousand Oaks in a seesaw Marmonte League game Friday night at Newbury Park.

Smith, the Panthers’ fleet junior quarterback and the Southern Section’s leading passer, connected with Van Buren, a junior wide receiver, for five touchdown passes, including the game-winning score with 3 minutes 35 seconds to play.

On that exchange, Smith scrambled from a fierce pass rush at the Thousand Oaks five-yard line before spotting Van Buren in the end zone amid double coverage and with an extended index finger.

Smith’s pass was perfect, and so was the evening for Newbury Park (5-1, 3-0 in league play), which retained at least a share of first place and defeated Thousand Oaks (2-3-1, 2-1) for the first time since 1983.

“We make eye contact,” said Smith, who completed 16 of 25 passes for 307 yards. “We know each other really good. We can read each other’s minds, I guess.”

In scoring all five of the Panthers’ touchdowns, Van Buren caught seven passes for 136 yards, including scoring passes of 35, 28, 9, 11 and 5.

However, Newbury Park’s defense made the final stand in a game in which the lead changed hands seven times.

Thousand Oaks, which rushed for 249 yards, marched from its 32 to the Panthers’ 46 with 1:40 to play. But quarterback Trevor Thompson was stopped three yards short on a fourth-down scramble.

“We challenged our defense at halftime and they came out and won the game for us,” Newbury Park Coach George Hurley said. “Our defense is every bit as important as those two guys on offense.”

Thousand Oaks running back Fred Polito gained a game-high 140-yards and scored two touchdowns in 22 carries. Fullback Manfred Wagner gained 96 yards in 17 carries, including an 18-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter to give the Lancers a 31-24 lead.

The lead changed hands five times before halftime. The only drive that did not result in a touchdown was Newbury Park’s game-opening march.

On the game’s first play, Smith passed to Jason Toohey over the middle for a 62-yard gain to the Thousand Oaks 22. Smith, however, could not complete his next four passes.

Thousand Oaks countered with a 13-play touchdown drive that culminated with a nine-yard run by Polito and 7-0 lead.