Westlake Hit a Stone Wall in Red Zone

Five times Westlake High had the ball inside the 15-yard line Friday night.

Five times Newbury Park turned the Warriors away.

“That’s very remarkable,” Newbury Park defensive coordinator Doug Dagan said. “The kids played with a lot of effort and a lot of heart.”

There was intense hand to hand combat matching receiver against defensive back and lineman against lineman.

“We were clawing each other, we were screaming at each other,” Newbury Park receiver Jake Farrel said of his duel with Westlake cornerback Travis Campbell.

Newbury Park (9-0, 6-0 in league play) came away with a 20-7 Marmonte League victory because of a defense that hit, tackled and chased down Westlake players all night.

No Newbury Park player was more valuable than the 6-foot-5 Farrel, whose defensive assignment was to cover Westlake 6-5 tight end Mike Seidman.

Twice Farrel, nicknamed “White Lightning,” broke up passes within Seidman’s grasp.

“It was big man on big man,” Farrel said.

At the end of the first half, Farrel’s 36-yard interception return of a pass intended for Seidman resulted in the only score of the half.

“He was staying on me,” Seidman said. “He was able to reach up where no defensive back could.”

Newbury Park had many defensive heroes. Defensive end Brian Crain contributed three sacks. Linebacker Anthony Foli frustrated the Warriors with critical goal-line tackles. Linebacker Nate McArthur was all over the field.

“Our confidence just built up that we could stop these guys,” Crain said.

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For the defense: Newbury Park’s defense overshadowed a tremendous performance by Westlake defenders.

Campbell had two interceptions. Jared Kerns recorded a sack on a safety blitz. Linebacker David Mansell added a sack.

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Surfer look: More than 20 Newbury Park players bleached their hair over the past two weeks.

“Maybe they want to be surfer dudes,” Panther Coach George Hurley said. “It’s better than striped, purple or green hair.”

Quarterback Nick Czernek, who has natural blond hair, declared, “I think they’re all jealous of me.”

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Learning experience: For the fourth time this season, Westlake sophomore quarterback Zac Wasserman had a pass interception returned for a touchdown.

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Showing courage: Despite a painful sprained ankle, Joey Cuppari of Westlake caught eight passes for 76 yards. But the injury affected his mobility.