Newbury Park Blitzes Buena

The ending was so dizzying that Coach George Hurley of Newbury Park High had to be prevented from falling by trainers.

“I felt lightheaded jumping up and down,” he said.

There was plenty for the Panthers to celebrate.

Stymied most of the game by a smothering Buena High defense, Newbury Park scored two touchdowns in the final 2:10 to upset the Bulldogs, 21-14, Friday night at Ventura High and advance to the Southern Section Division IV semifinals.

“I don’t know if we can play any better,” Hurley said.

Following an onside kick recovery by Justin Patterson with Buena leading, 14-13, Newbury Park drove 39 yards on six plays, scoring on a one-yard run by Marcus Crawford with 41 seconds to play. Crawford also ran for the conversion.

Recovering the kick redeemed Panther coaches for going for a two-point conversion after Cameron Merrill connected with Pat DuRoss on a 21-yard scoring play to cut Buena’s lead to one point with 2:10 to play.

Newbury Park (8-4) was ready to go for a one-point conversion, but a Buena penalty moved the ball halfway to the goal line and the Panthers went for two.

Throwing from the shotgun--which could have been done just as easily before the penalty--Merrill misfired on a pass to DuRoss and it appeared Buena (10-2), which had not lost since the season opener, could run out the clock.

But Patterson recovered the onside kick and Merrill, who struggled most of the game, led the winning drive.

“The coaches kept saying positive stuff even when our drives stalled, and I think they’ve developed a lot of trust in me now,” said Merrill, who completed 14 of 28 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns, both to DuRoss.

Newbury Park’s defense contained Buena, which has two 1,000-yard rushers and averaged 422 yards a game. D.J. Blackledge was held to 72 yards in 18 carries and Freddie Keiaho had 104 in 14.

More than half of Keiaho’s yards came on one run, a 54-yard touchdown that tied the score, 7-7, in the second quarter.

Buena took a 14-7 lead with 4:07 to play in the third quarter by driving 76 yards in five minutes, scoring on a seven-yard pass from Kyle Loughman to Brandon Faumuina.

Neither team moved the ball thereafter, and it appeared Buena might escape with an unremarkable victory. But there was nothing unremarkable about Newbury Park’s finish.

The Panthers punted six times and Merrill threw one interception, yet every time the offense came off the field, Hurley had kind words.

“Our defense was playing so unbelievably that I felt as long as our offensive guys didn’t get down, we would find a way to win,” Hurley said.