Newbury Park does enough to pass test vs. St. Joseph
Newbury Park faced its toughest test of the season Friday night — an undefeated opponent, an early deficit, and yes, a wet and slippery field.
The Panthers may not have aced the test, but they still passed, defeating St. Joseph 31-21 to move to 4-0.
“You don't know how good you are until you play a great team, and they're a great team,” Newbury Park coach Joe Smigiel said. “We stepped up to the challenge and we did it as a group, that's the main thing.”
The offense, led by freshman quarterback Brady Smigiel and wide receivers Charlie Simmons and Shane Rosenthal, was potent and efficient. The defense, led by a swarming pass rush, rattled St. Joseph quarterback Darian Mensah all game.
The linebackers kept Mensah in check whenever he decided to take off, and the defensive backs gave the Knights' receivers little room to operate.
“We're finally getting the respect that we deserve,” said Newbury Park defensive end Beau Purvis. “Our coaching staff has brought us to the next level. We've been good but they are really squeezing everything out of us, every last bit. They're pushing us to be great.”
The Panthers' resilience was tested after falling behind 7-0 early, giving up a 53-yard touchdown run to Aaron Fierro. They buckled down after that initial score, holding the Knights down the rest of the first half.
The offense started cooking, with Smigiel finding two different receivers for touchdowns. Simmons finished with nine catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Rosenthal added nine receptions for 83 yards. Cade Falsken also caught a touchdown.
Smigiel completed 27 passes on 38 attempts for 310 yards and three touchdowns with one interception, and he also scored on a 5-yard run.
“I think we really came together as a team. We overcame the conditions, we came together and got the win,” Simmons said. “Defense stepped up, everybody came together, we punched them in the mouth and stayed at it.”
The Granada Hills Charter football team has a one-two punch in Dijon Stanley and his cousin Darrell Stanley. Figuratively and literally — Dijon wears No. 1 and Darrell wears No. 2.
“My dad wore No. 1 in high school, so I kind of just took on the legacy,” Dijon Stanley said. “(Darrell) wore No. 4 and when he came in, someone had that number, so he was like, `We're going to be 1-2.' And we kind of just came up with a onetwo punch and we rolled with it.”
That tandem role was demonstrated in a 62-18 win over Kennedy on Friday night. Darrell Stanley rushed for five touchdowns and 229 yards and Dijon Stanley rushed for two touchdowns and 140 yards. Both played on defense, as well.
Both possess the speed and agility to finesse their way around defenders, giving the Highlanders two reliable options.
“We game-planned to contain and tackle and we didn't contain and tackle,” Kennedy coach Troy Cassidy said. “They are very, very special football players and very, very good. They are going to make noise in the city.”
Darrell Stanley joined the team this season after transferring from Mojave High, a program near Hesperia. After a younger cousin of Dijon's died in the
“We want to show the neighborhood kids that you can come to a public school in your neighborhood and get out and have opportunities.”
area, he had a conversation with Darrell about coming to Granada Hills.
“We had a little cousin that recently passed,” Dijon said, growing emotional at the thought. “I knew I had to do it for him. I couldn't see him go. I love him, love my team, I love my family.”
At first, when he arrived at Granada Hills, Darrell was known as “Dijon's cousin.” But thanks in part to his performance on the field, that's no longer the case.
“I'm starting to make a name for myself.” Darrell, a sophomore, said. “But it's just good. All the people, they love me because they love him.”
United and sharing the football field on Friday night, the duo combined for five touchdowns by halftime to help give Granada Hills a 50-12 lead. Riley Nguyen also chipped in a touchdown on a pick-six.
Gor Abrahamian scored for Kennedy (1-2) on a 7-yard run and Brandon