Czernek Headed for San Luis Obispo

Newbury Park High’s Chris Czernek, the nation’s only high school quarterback to pass for more than 4,000 yards in two different seasons, signed a letter of intent Wednesday to play at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Despite his impressive statistics, Czernek, The Times’ Ventura County offensive player of the year, received little attention from major colleges because of his 5-foot-11, 170-pound frame.

He received serious attention only from small colleges, including Cal State Northridge and Cal Lutheran. Czernek turned down an offer from Northridge.

“It kind of got to me a little bit,” Czernek said. “[But] there’s no chance of me playing football after college, so you got to go with what you’ve got. . . . Use football to get a good education and a good job and go from there.”

What Czernek liked most about San Luis Obispo had more to do with its location and college-town atmosphere than football.

“Northridge has a great football program going, but I want the whole package, the whole college experience,” Czernek said.

Czernek is among the more than two dozen high school and junior college players in the Valley and Ventura County who signed letters of intent Wednesday, the first day of the signing period.

They included six players from Moorpark College, traditionally a winning junior college program.

“We’re a second-chance-type place, and this year a lot of guys made the most of their chances,” Moorpark Coach Jim Bittner said.

Moorpark’s All-Western State Conference cornerback DeWayne Mathis (Ventura High) signed with Hawaii, offensive linemen Mike Turk (Fillmore) and Guillermo Lopez (Hueneme) signed with Sacramento State and defensive lineman Walter Glover (Oxnard) chose Oregon State. Kicker Tim Wolleck (Simi Valley) opted for California and offensive lineman John Raymond (Buena) picked Pittsburgh.

Oxnard’s Courtney Palmore, who led Southern Section defensive backs with 134 tackles during the regular season, signed with Arizona State.

Two of Czernek’s teammates also signed. Lineman Brian Nelson chose Brown and Patrick Reddick, fifth on the Southern Section career receiving list, picked Washington.

Two Simi Valley players chose Boise State: kicker John Gonzalez and lineman Joe Sarcinella.

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Staff writer Steve Henson contributed to this story.