Moorpark Finds Out Who’s Boss in 27-7 Loss

There should be no more question about supremacy in the Marmonte League. The numbers don’t lie.

Newbury Park High had more passing yards than Moorpark. More rushing yards. Certainly more points.

If the Panthers hadn’t turned the ball over eight times, the score might have been more lopsided. As it was, they defeated Moorpark, 27-7, on Friday night at Moorpark to stand alone atop the league standings.

“I can’t believe we overcame eight turnovers,” receiver Cause Hanna of Newbury Park said. “But our defense played great and we kept coming at them.”

Moorpark’s 19-game winning streak, a Ventura County record, came to an end. There was historical symmetry: Moorkpark (6-1, 3-1 in league play) took the record from Newbury Park, which had 16 consecutive victories over the 1993 and 1994 seasons.

Moorpark Coach Ron Wilford offered a half-smile: “The sun’s going to come up tomorrow. We’re going to be OK.”

A week after beating Westlake with a last-minute touchdown, Newbury Park (6-1, 4-0) won this game by playing jump ball. The Panthers matched 6-foot-1 Hanna and 6-2 Tyler Johnson against Moorpark defenders such as 5-8 Gary Stevenson and 5-10 Joe Papandrea.

The two receivers ran endless fade routes as quarterback Nick Czernek lofted high passes. Johnson had a 22-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter. Hanna caught a key second-quarter pass that led to Ryan Shipton’s three-yard touchdown run and a 13-0 lead.

Yet for every score, there was a miscue. Czernek had a pass intercepted at the goal line. Hanna fumbled stretching for the end zone. Shipton fumbled at the eight-yard line.

“I’m a little embarrassed,” Newbury Park Coach George Hurley said. “There was some good and some bad.”

The good: Czernek completed 17 of 34 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns. Hanna caught nine passes for 145 yards. Shipton ran 28 times for 203 yards.

The bad: Czernek had three passes intercepted. Shipton fumbled three times.

But Moorpark never got its offense in gear. Art Garcia had 84 yards in 20 carries. Quarterbacks Mark Gressman and Dylan McLaughlin managed only 93 passing yards.

So Newbury Park extended the lead to 20-0 in the third quarter when Craig Hundley scored from the three-yard line.

And even after Jeremy Shoop’s 62-yard punt return led to a Moorpark score--Garcia carried from the two--Newbury Park seemed unfazed.

Czernek drove his team back down the field and found Hanna embarrassingly open for a 26-yard touchdown pass.