Newbury Park Has Field Day

Since forfeiting eight games last season to ruin an unbeaten record, the Oxnard High Yellowjackets believed a loss was something only an administrator could hand them.

Now they know defeats come via air mail as well.

Nick Czernek passed for 264 yards and three touchdowns and Newbury Park cruised to a 41-13 victory over Oxnard in a nonleague game Friday night at Oxnard.

It marked the Yellowjackets’ first loss on the field since 1995 and their first loss at their stadium that opened last season.

“We did not play well at all,” Oxnard Coach Wes Morimune said. “They came to play and we didn’t.”

Czernek made his presence felt early, passing for most of his yardage and all of his touchdown passes in the first half when Newbury Park (2-0) took a 27-6 lead.

The Panther defense, usually susceptible to a strong running game, allowed Oxnard’s speedy tailback Desmond Davis 108 yards in 19 carries, but most came with Oxnard playing catch-up. Newbury Park also intercepted three passes and recovered a fumble.

“Our defense is doing better,” Newbury Park Coach George Hurley said. “Their speed scared me, but we did very well.”

So well that Czernek did not throw a single pass in the fourth quarter when Newbury Park whittled off time by plowing up the middle. The key plays came much earlier.

After batting down a fourth-down Oxnard pass at the Newbury Park 23 with four minutes to play in the first half, the Panthers went 76 yards in 11 plays, scoring on an 11-yard pass from Czernek to Tyler Johnson for a 27-6 lead with 43 seconds left.

Oxnard (1-1), the No. 2-ranked team in the area, drove to the Newbury Park seven but time ran out after a 29-yard gain on a screen pass to Davis, a play that typified the frustration the Yellowjackets felt beginning with the game’s first play--an 80-yard scoring run by Davis negated by a clipping penalty.

Newbury Park also had a first-half score called back--a 37-yard interception return by James Bailey, but Bailey opened the second half by returning the kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown to give the Panthers a 34-6 lead.

Czernek threw touchdown passes of 14 yards to Paul Sanford and 50 yards to Jake Farrel in the first quarter to open the scoring. Farrel was the game’s leading receiver with four catches for 127 yards.

Oxnard countered with a 31-yard scoring pass over the middle from Joe Rivas to fullback Chad Pierson, but Russell Thomas picked up the ensuing kickoff on the 28, broke free and scampered for a Newbury Park touchdown and a 20-6 first-quarter lead.