| 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newport Harbor | 7 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 49 |
| Newbury Park | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
Thousand Oaks (Newbury Park High School)
For the third straight year (no playoffs in the COVID year, so 2019, 2021, 2022) the Newport Harbor football team advanced to the CIF-SS semifinals, as it beat Newbury Park 49-28 on Friday at Newbury Park High School in the CIF-SS Division 4 quarterfinals.
The Sailors (8-4), the No.2 seed, will be on the road next week when they No.3 seed, Cypress High School, at Western High School. The Centurions edged Milikan 29-28 on a last-second touchdown and 2-point conversion.
This weekend is the deadline to preorder your Christmas Tree and Wreath
Getting to the semifinals this season wasn’t easy, as Newport fell behind 14-0 after Newbury Park’s first two drives resulted in touchdowns. The Panthers, the third-place team from the Canyon League, got two passing touchdowns from freshman phenom Brady Smigiel, who found Shane Rosenthal and Casey Knieriem.
The Sailors didn’t get on the board until late in the opening quarter when Colton Joseph ran the ball in for a six-yard touchdown on 4th and 1. But before the quarter ended, Newbury utilized a big play and a penalty to get down to the Sailors’ 17.
Three plays later, Smigiel found Charlie Simmons on a screen pass, as Simmons spun past two defenders and found the endzone.
The next drive Newport Harbor’s offense run a lot smoother, as Peyton Irving, who missed last year’s CIF-SS championship run, played a big part in the run game. Eventually, Irving went in for a six-yard score to get the Sailors closer.
It appeared the Panthers were on the verge of scoring again as they marched into to Sailor territory. But a sliding interception by sophomore Tony Glynn got the ball back to the Sailors. Newport Harbor made the most of the interception, as they marched down the field from their 29 to have Irving punch it in from two yards out to tie the game.
The next drive saw things flip upside down for Newbury Park, as Smigiel suffered a head injury on an inadvertent hit, which knocked him out of the game. Following Smigiel exiting the game, the Panthers on third down, in the waning seconds of the second quarter, fumbled the snap and was recovered by junior DL Cam Denoon.
Two plays later, Joseph threw his first touchdown pass of the game, finding Josiah Lamarque for a 29-yard throw to give the Sailors the lead at halftime.
On the second play of the second half, Joseph found Lamarque again for a 69-yard catch and run touchdown, extending the lead.
Looking to try and steal the momentum back, Newbury Park got all the way to the Newport Harbor 12. Rhys Kelly, who filled in at quarterback for Smigiel, ran with the ball on 4th and 8, but was stopped short due to a tackle from Tanner Muir, forcing a turnover on downs.
After both teams punted on their next offensive drives, the Sailors had good field position on the Panthers’ 40. After an ineligible receiver down field penalty wiped away a touchdown catch from Kashton Henjum, Joseph went back to Henjum who caught a touchdown from 26 yards out.
The two connected again for a 54-yard touchdown catch and run after a defender fell as all the momentum was on Newport Harbor’s side.
Following the touchdown, the Sailors received an unsportsmanlike penalty, which was assessed on the kickoff, helping Rosenthal score on a kickoff return touchdown. The score marked the first of the second half for Newbury Park, who didn’t score an offensive touchdown after Smigiel went out.
“The overall physicality of the game was in our favor tonight,” said Coach Lofthouse. “We got off to a slow start, but were able to wear them down on the line. That got our run game going and once we had that we finished the game well.”
————————-
Note for next week: Newport Harbor travels to play Cypress High School at Western High School in the Division 4 semi finals.