HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: WEEK 10 : Newbury Park Cuts Down Thousand Oaks to Win Crown, 37-27

The play is the essence of simplicity, and it simply made Newbury Park High the Marmonte League champion Thursday night at Thousand Oaks.

The quarterback tosses the ball far, the receiver jumps high, and the referee throws both hands into the air.

In a game that otherwise was evenly played, the fade pattern was the difference in the Panthers’ 37-27 victory over Thousand Oaks.

Newbury Park (10-0, 7-0 in league play) completed an unbeaten regular season for the second time in three seasons. Thousand Oaks (8-2, 6-1) will enter the Southern Section Division III playoffs as the league’s second-place representative.

Chris Czernek’s 23-yard lob to wide receiver Patrick Reddick on fourth down scored the clinching touchdown with 10 minutes play. It was the last in a number of touch passes down the sideline Czernek threw to Reddick and his counterpart, 6-foot-5 DaJuan Hawkins.

“We couldn’t seem to defend the fade,” Thousand Oaks Coach Mike Kelly said. “Their receivers just outjumped our defensive backs.”

A similar pass on the final play of the first half enabled Newbury Park to pull within 20-18. Czernek let it fly to Reddick, who outjumped two defenders and tipped the ball to teammate Eddie Patterson. Patterson made a one-handed grab at the five-yard line and scampered into the end zone.

“We didn’t think the fade would work watching films, but as the game went on it kept working,” Reddick said.

Czernek threw five touchdown passes, giving him 34 this season, and passed for 337 yards for a season total of 3,213. He completed 19 of 34. Reddick and Patterson each had two scoring receptions and Hawkins had one.

Patterson returned an interception 46 yards for a touchdown on Thousand Oaks’ first possession, but the Lancers roared back to score in three plays. Jud Southwell took a screen pass from Scott McEwan (14 of 29 for 255 yards) 49 yards for the score.

Newbury Park scored two minutes later on a 27-yard pass from Czernek to Reddick, capping a five-play drive that included a 30-yard completion to Justin Vint.

Thousand Oaks needed only 27 seconds to answer, scoring on a 65-yard pass play from McEwan to Barrett Grindle to take a 13-12 lead eight minutes into the game.

Thousand Oaks drove 69 yards, with McEwan going the last 26 on a bootleg with 25 seconds to play in the half.

Newbury Park took over at midfield and a nine-yard pass to Vint was followed by the touchdown pass tipped from Reddick to Patterson.

Newbury Park gained 360 total yards, including 213 in the second half. Thousand Oaks, with tailback Brandon Jackson getting only two carries because of a separated shoulder, rushed for 163 yards and had 418 total yards.