NEWBURY PARK — Newbury Park quarterback Brady Smigiel set a Ventura County record for career passing yards and Kayin Booker tore up the field to help the Panthers shut out Thousand Oaks 38-0 on Friday night.
“We played hard, we didn’t give up any points and this is by far the craziest environment I’ve ever played in,” Booker said. “I’ve gotta give it to our student section. They were loud on every play; they didn’t give up.”
Booker was valuable for the Panthers (9-0 overall, 4-0 Conejo Coast League) through the air and on the ground. The Portland State commit rushed for a 30-yard touchdown and caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Smigiel in the first half, mowing down any player who was in his path.
Smigiel, who surpassed 10,000 career passing yards, threw a 66-yard touchdown pass to Shane Rosenthal to contribute to a 28-0 halftime advantage. All three Panthers combined for a trick play that involved Booker pitching the ball to Rosenthal, who then tossed it to Smigiel for a 4-yard score.
“It’s our trick play that we ran when I was a freshman,” said Smigiel, a Florida State commit. “It was special for Shane to throw it to me because I’ve been able to do it for him. I wouldn’t say that I’m the fastest receiver that’s ever played at Newbury Park, but I was really wide open.”
Booker, son of former NFL running back Lorenzo Booker, played both ways and his hard-hitting style found its way into nearly every play on offense.
“I’m thinking that he’s in my way,” Booker said of going up against defenders. “He’s in my way of college. He’s in my way of feeding my future family. So I gotta get him out of the way.”
Running back Justin Lewis barreled forward for yardage for Thousand Oaks (5-4, 2-1) and quarterback Jackson Taylor’s quickness in making decisions was tested against the Panthers’ swarming defense.
Luke Sullivan recovered a Newbury Park fumble and, two plays later, Taylor completed a four-yard pass to Justin Lewis as he was tackled for a valuable first down early in the second quarter.
The Panthers forced two incomplete passes for a turnover on downs at the 13-yard line.
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Newbury Park football’s defense forcing its way into spotlight
“The big thing was stopping the run,” Newbury Park head coach Joe Smigiel said. “They had a good running back, a good offensive line and the coach is an offensive line guy. We had to stop the run, keep them out of the end zone and force them to pass. We were able to get some pressure on Jackson and it was very successful.”
The Panthers added 10 more points in the second half on a punt return and a 25-yard field goal before subbing out starters with roughly 6:30 left.
Newbury Park looks to preserve its unbeaten record at Rio Mesa next week in its Conejo Coast League finale. Thousand Oaks will host Santa Barbara.