Panthers' magical season ends in Canyon Country

An hour before Newbury Park High's football game against Hart of Newhall at College of the Canyons last weekend, the rain that had been pouring all day finally disappeared. Hart running back Delano Howell did not, which was unfortunate for the Panthers.

NPHS couldn't contain Howell as the senior ran wild for 264 yards and four touchdowns in Hart's 376 win over the Panthers in a CIF-Southern Section Northern Division semifinal last Friday night.

The loss ended Newbury Park's season, which included its first Marmonte League title since 1999 and an 11-2 overall record.

"I have a lot of respect for Delano Howell," Panther senior linebacker Chance Flaaten said. "He's the best athlete I've ever played against, and we had a tough time stopping him and his team tonight."

Newbury Park head coach George Hurley agreed that Howell was the difference.

"We hit him with everything we've got, and he still wouldn't go down," Hurley said. "I'm glad I won't have to see him anymore."

Although Howell played well, it was the Panthers who were hitting on all cylinders early in the game. While NPHS defense held Hart to three first-quarter points, Newbury Park finally got on the scoreboard with 14 seconds remaining in the first quarter when senior quarterback Colby Cameron threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Cameron Roberson.

The Panthers' 6-3 lead was short-lived, however, as NPHS would not score again.

Hart took a 10-6 lead when Howell ran 28 yards to score the first of his gamehigh five touchdowns (he also had a receiving touchdown). Three and a half minutes later, Howell showed off his receiving skills, when quarterback B.R. Holbrook found him in the end zone from 30 yards out to give Hart a 17-6 lead.

The Stanford-bound senior continued his solid play in the second half by rushing for three more scores. The first came with 6:28 left in the third quarter from 4 yards out, while the second came from 55 yards with 3:50 remaining in the third. The last score was a 1yard touchdown run that put the Indians up 37-6 with 6:05 remaining in regulation.

While Newbury Park couldn't stop Howell, its offense couldn't muster much momentum either.

Although junior running back Chris Brown played well on an injured right knee (105 yards on 18 carries), the Panthers didn't receive much help elsewhere.

Newbury Park was only able to get the ball into the red zone once in the second half. The long drives put together by the Indians' running game kept the NPHS offense off the field for 13 of the first 18 minutes in the second half.

Senior quarterback Colby Cameron wasn't his usual self, either. The twoyear starter completed just 14-of-36 passes for 146 yards and two interceptions.

In his career with the Panthers, Cameron completed 370-of-756 pass attempts for 4,912 yards and 47 touchdowns.

"It was fun blocking for (Cameron) for two years," senior guard Jack Knauer said. "He worked hard every day, and he always credited the offensive line when he did well."

Hurley said saying goodbye to Cameron would be tough, adding it would be difficult to say farewell to all his seniors.

"Who I feel really bad for are the seniors who will never play a game of football again," Hurley said. "This is such a great game, and I wish that all my guys could play it forever."

After the game, Flaaten reflected on his last year wearing the black-and-gold.

"It was a fun season," Flaaten said. "We had a lot of good characters and team leaders this year. Our captains didn't let anyone slack off in practice or in games, and they made it more fun to play on this team. Everyone was motivated this season."

Hurley said he would remember the Panthers' work ethic.

"There was a lot of effort and dedication on this team," the coach said. "In all my years at Newbury, it was definitely one of the hardest-working teams I've ever coached. We had great leaders like Tim Ketaily and Steve Sandoval that I'll always remember.

"At the same time, I'm very proud of my juniors and sophomores. Hopefully this isn't the end, but rather the start of something even bigger for football at Newbury Park."

While Hurley said bigger things may be on the horizon, they may be occurring without him, as the 59-year-old hinted at possibly stepping down from coaching.

Hurley said he will make his final decision after a team banquet in early January.

"When I was in my late 30s taking over this team I said, 'Wow, I'll be 60 in 2008, and that might be a good time to step down,'" Hurley said.

"Now that I'm here, I'm not so sure I want to do that. Right now I'm very tired, and I don't want to make a decision when I'm tired. That's like making a decision when you're angry- not smart."