Newbury Park Dishes Out a Royal Beating, 37-16

NEWBURY PARK â€”  An uncharacteristic hush fell over the home crowd at Newbury Park High when Royal’s Mike Reddington raced untouched on the first play from scrimmage for a 64-yard touchdown run.

Newbury Park’s fans are not used to their team trailing--no matter how small the deficit.

Unfortunately for Royal, that was the only time it could quiet the Panthers’ cheering section.

Showing why they are the region’s top-ranked team, the Panthers scorched the Highlanders for 30 consecutive first-half points en route to a 37-16 Marmonte League victory Friday night.

The Panthers (8-0, 5-0 in league play) are ranked first in The Times’ regional and Southern Section Division III polls, and 18th in the state by Cal-Hi Sports. With the victory, the Panthers eclipsed the school record of seven consecutive victories, set in 1971 and tied in ’72.

Panther quarterback Keith Smith completed 20 of 26 passes for 338 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran for another score. Smith, the Ventura County’s all-time passing leader, has 8,247 yards passing.

Smith is in fifth place on the all-time state list. With two games left in the regular season, he needs 558 yards to move past Ron Cuccia, who played at Los Angeles Wilson (1975-77), into fourth place.

Smith capped a five-play, 48-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. Attempting to pass, Smith rolled to his right, avoided a fierce Highlander pass rush, ran to his left and leaped over a Royal defender into the end zone. His two-point conversion pass to running back Rich Adams put the Panthers ahead for good, 8-7.

Newbury Park stretched its lead to 30-7 by halftime.

Panther receiver Leodes Van Buren, the state’s all-time leader in receptions and receiving yardage, had six catches for 148 yards and one touchdown.

Reddington led Royal (4-4, 2-3) with 85 yards rushing, but netted only 21 in eight carries following his long touchdown run. Highlander quarterback Wes Lagatta completed 13 of 23 passes for 124 yards and ran for a touchdown.