WORKING TO IMPROVE-Newbury Park junior quarterback Colby Cameron does a few pushups during Tuesday's practice session. Cameron has thrown for 1,730 yards this season, good for 10th in the state. After a rough start to the season, the Panthers are 3-4 heading into Friday's showdown at Moorpark High. The youngest Cameron might be the best athlete of the bunch.

Colby Cameron, little brother of former Newbury Park High sports standouts Emily, Brynn and Jordan Cameron, is in his first season as the Panthers' starting quarterback.

Emily and Brynn were multisport standouts at NPHS several years back, and Brynn is currently a member of the USC women's basketball team, although she'll sit out this season due to the birth of her first child, the quarterback said.

Jordan graduated last year after an illustrious basketball and football career at Newbury Park. He's currently playing basketball for BYU.

Colby, meanwhile, is just trying to make a name for himself, and he admits that having the words "Cameron" sprawled across the back of his No. 7 jersey carries tremendous expectations.

"It's not hard, but you have to set your standards higher because people expect you to do well just like your brother and sisters," the junior signal-caller said. "I just try to work hard and not get looked down upon."

As if the pressure of being a Cameron wasn't enough, Colby also has to deal with the heavy burden placed on the quarterback position at Newbury Park, where throwing the football 40 or 50 times a game is commonplace.

"We've had three of the five kids that have ever thrown for 4,000 yards in California (history)," Panther head coach George Hurley said. "This is an elite place for quarterbacks. If you're a quarterback, this is where you want to be . . . but there's a price to pay. There's a lot of work to it."

Cameron paid the price early on this season.

In his first five games as the team's starter, Cameron threw 11 interceptions and the Panthers' record was 1-4, including a pair of Marmonte League defeats to Westlake and Agoura.

"The game was a lot faster than I was used to," Cameron said. "But as time has gone on, things have gotten a little easier, the game slowed down for me. Our line has been blocking well, too, so that makes things much easier."

In the Panthers' last two games, victories over Calabasas and Simi Valley, Cameron has completed 38-of-62 passes for 543 yards with seven touchdowns and only one interception.

Newbury Park senior wide receiver/free safety Anthony Leonardi, who leads the Marmonte League in receptions (45), receiving yards (615) and receiving touchdowns (seven), said Cameron is beginning to gain confidence in the huddle and in the pocket.

"In the beginning, when he was first starting on the varsity team, everything was new and he wasn't really into it," Leonardi said. "But now he's starting to warm up to it, and the last couple of games we're just connecting. He's going with the flow more. It's working out well."

Cameron, who stands 6foot3 and weighs 175 pounds, currently ranks 10th in the state with 1,730 passing yards. In fact, he has more yards than Oaks Christian quarterback Jimmy Clausen, the nation's No. 1 prep prospect.

"Remember, Jimmy Clausen only usually plays half a game," Hurley said.

At 3-4 overall and 2-2 in the Marmonte League, Newbury Park is right in the thick of the playoff hunt despite its slow start.

The Panthers will be on the road Friday night to play the defending league champion Moorpark Musketeers, a team NPHS defeated last season.

Cameron, an avid surfer who also plays shooting guard on the Panther basketball team, said his squad is capable of performing well enough over the final three weeks of the regular season to earn a postseason bid.

"Our team is progressing more and more," he said. "We were so young early in the year that we made some mistakes which cost us a few games. Now we're cutting down those mistakes and it's paying off for us."

In time, Hurley said Cameron could prove his older brother correct.

Jordan "told us that Colby is the best athlete in the family," Hurley said.

"Take that for what it is, but they say Colby has the potential to be the best of the bunch. We'll see. He still has a lot of work to do."