Newbury Park’s Upset Bid Finds No Middle Ground

Newbury Park High scored first and last, but like an Oreo cookie, the middle made the difference.

And that belonged to San Luis Obispo.

The top-seeded Tigers used a relentless ground game to churn out a 27-14 victory Friday night in a Southern Section Division IV semifinal at Newbury Park.

The Panthers (8-5) were attempting to pull off their third playoff upset with more will than skill. But their will got drilled by the power running of Khaled Elmasri.

A senior who replaced injured tailback Kani Walker four games ago, Elmasri rushed for 256 in 35 carries and scored all three Tiger touchdowns.

“The first hit didn’t bring him down,” Coach Vic Ecklund of San Luis Obispo said. “He came into his own a little bit.”

While San Luis Obispo (12-1) rushed for 333 yards, Newbury Park took to the air despite a strong wind.

Cameron Merrill passed for 371 yards, completing 23 of 50 passes. The 6-foot-2 senior became progressively better along with his team during the season, leading Newbury Park to playoff victories over Righetti and Buena.

It appeared the Panthers were poised for their best effort when they marched 80 yards for a touchdown on the game’s first possession. Merrill completed five on nine passes on the 11-play drive and hit L. Ray Hawkins from 22 yards for the score.

San Luis Obispo turned the ball over on downs at the Newbury Park five. After a Newbury Park fumble quickly gave the Tigers the ball at the 10, the Panther defense shined again, surrendering only a field goal.

Both Tiger possessions in the second quarter resulted in touchdowns by Elmasri, however, and San Luis Obispo led at halftime, 17-7.

Merrill engineered a drive early in the third quarter to the San Luis Obispo 20, but Hawkins fumbled after a reception. The junior receiver had 11 catches for 203 yards and two touchdowns, the second a 67-yard play with 2:26 to play.

San Luis Obispo, which averages 42 points a game, extended its lead to 20-7 with a 39-yard field goal by Nate Bass late in the third quarter and pulled away, 27-7, on a 15-yard scoring run by Elmasri with 6:52 to play.

“Newbury Park tackled hard, harder than I expected,” Elmasri said.

The Panthers went farther in the playoffs than most expected. A team that lost its quarterback, Chris Lombardo, to injury in its season opener and surrendered easy touchdowns early in the season eventually became a cohesive, potent group.

“It’s the most improved team I’ve ever coached,” said Coach George Hurley, who completed his 11th season. “Every guy got better and everybody gave 100%. It was a fun team to coach.”

Six defensive starters will return, as will Hawkins and tailback Marcus Crawford, who rushed for 1,766 yards despite gaining only 35 in nine carries Friday night.

Merrill, who did not have a pass intercepted Friday, threw 28 touchdown passes on the season with only six interceptions. He passed for 2,281 yards.

San Luis Obispo will play the winner of tonight’s semifinal between Westlake and Arroyo Grande.