Agoura Is Nicked by Newbury Park

He’s taller and more mobile, but in one area Nick Czernek is beginning to resemble his brother Chris.

The numbers.

Czernek passed for 391 yards and three touchdowns, keeping Newbury Park High unbeaten with a 29-19 victory over Agoura in a Marmonte League game Friday night at Newbury Park.

“Nick gets out of the pocket and he’ll still find you,” Panther receiver Jake Farrel said.

Czernek certainly found Farrel, a 6-foot-5 senior who had 13 catches for 200 yards and two touchdowns.

Most of the damage came in the first half, when Czernek passed for 309 yards and three touchdowns as Newbury Park built a 19-12 lead.

It appeared Czernek might approach his brother’s single-game school record of 458 yards passing, but the Panthers chewed up the clock in the fourth quarter with Ryan Shipton, who rushed for 85 yards in 17 carries.

Newbury Park (7-0, 4-0 in league play) totally shut down Agoura’s running game. Chris Poling, who came into the game with 893 yards rushing, was held to 19 in eight carries.

Poling’s best play was a 54-yard touchdown on a double-pass to Garrett Lepisto that pulled Agoura (5-2, 3-1) to within 13-12 with one minute to play in the first half.

But Newbury Park punched right back two plays later when Farrel leaped high for a fade pass, kept his feet, cut inside and dashed to the end zone to complete a 65-yard scoring play.

The third quarter was disastrous for Agoura. Quarterback Marcus Helfman played well during the first half in relief of Ryan McCann, who was out for the second week in a row with a separated shoulder, but threw interceptions on his only two passes in the third quarter.

Newbury Park capitalized on a 24-yard field goal by Shad Agel and a one-yard scoring run by Mike Simo to take a 29-12 lead into the fourth quarter.

Helfman scored on a two-yard run with a little over two minutes to play, but the 61-yard drive leading to the touchdown took more than six minutes.

Newbury Park outgained Agoura, 505 to 301.

“In the second half, we came out and played like champions,” Newbury Park Coach George Hurley said. “We are getting better in every phase of the game.”

In the first half, only three interceptions in the half by Lepisto kept Agoura close.

A 54-yard pass play from Czernek to Russell Thomas opened the scoring, but Helfman, a 6-foot-6 senior who is a Division I prospect at tight end, hit Aaron Pruter in the end zone with a 22-yard bullet to tie the score with five minutes left in the first quarter.

Newbury Park came right back, scoring in nine plays, the last a 10-yard reception by Farrel.