Czernek Has Outing to Forget, 54-34

On a night when Nick Czernek passed for four touchdowns and almost 500 yards, the junior quarterback may best remember a half-dozen passes he should not have thrown.

Czernek’s six interceptions proved fatal for Newbury Park High as the No. 1-seeded Panthers lost, 54-34, to Arroyo Grande on Friday night in a Southern Section Division III first-round playoff game at Newbury Park.

A crestfallen Czernek, who completed 31 of 57 passes for 489 yards, was at a loss to explain the throws that got away.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I can’t talk about it right now.”

Arroyo Grande cornerback Nick Cornwell, who had three interceptions, explained that it was a matter of persistence.

“Never give up,” said Cornwell, who was beaten for two early scores. “Just come back, come back. That’s what it takes.”

The underdog Eagles (7-3) matched their defensive performance with a tricky and equally persistent running game. Operating out of a wing-T offense with plenty of motion, they battered the Panthers for six rushing touchdowns.

“We came in thinking we had a chance,” said running back Corey Lawrence, who ran 12 times for 131 yards and two touchdowns. “Toward the end of the third quarter, the started to wear down.”

Early on, it seemed the Panther passing attack would be too much for Arroyo Grande. Newbury Park receiver Jake Farrel burned Cornwell for touchdown catches of six and 12 yards, as his team raced to a 14-3 lead.

But Czernek started throwing interceptions and the Eagles took advantage.

When Arroyo Grande quarterback Sam Simonson threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Brian Quaresma, his team had a 21-14 lead at halftime.

The teams traded touchdowns for much of the second half. Arroyo Grande got its on the ground, taking a 27-14 lead on Mike McCreery’s 11-yard run.

Then, Farrel caught the third of his four touchdown passes to give Newbury Park (10-1) a brief 28-27 lead late in the third quarter. Farrel caught 15 passes for 190 yards.

But early in the fourth quarter, with Newbury Park driving, Cornwell intercepted another Czernek pass in the end zone.

“[Czernek] wasn’t saying much,” Farrel explained. “He was just saying, ‘Why did I throw that pass?’ ”

The Eagles quickly pulled away. Lawrence scored on a 34-yard touchdown run and Garrett Lintner scored from seven yards out. Lintner had 76 yards in 11 carries.

“You live by the pass, you die by the pass,” Newbury Park Coach George Hurley said. “They just outplayed us. They were quicker than we were used to playing.”