Newbury Park Loses QB First, Then Game

NEWBURY PARK — The quarterback was lost for the season. The team nearly was too.

Everything was spiraling out of control for Newbury Park High, which wanted a rough nonleague game and got it against Paso Robles on Friday.

A 28-point halftime deficit was bad news for the Panthers, a broken left ankle for quarterback Chris Lombardo made it worse.

To the Panthers’ credit, they rallied and made the game somewhat respectable, losing 35-20. But their losses were more than one game.

Lombardo, a transfer from St. Bonaventure who arrived with nearly 4,000 passing yards on his resume, was a natural for Newbury Park’s offense. But Lombardo was tackled while scrambling with 5:19 left in the second quarter, ruining what looked like a perfect marriage before it ever really got started.

“We just pick up the pieces and go from here,” Newbury Park Coach George Hurley said. “This kind of thing happens when you play a tough team.”

“It’s bad news,” said tight end Will Svitek, who had five catches for 54 yards and a touchdown. “Lombardo’s the real deal. But we’ve got Cameron Merrill, who’s a solid quarterback.”

Merrill, a senior, completed seven of 19 passes for 104 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

He led the Panthers (1-1) to three third-quarter touchdowns that helped bite into a 35-0 lead.

But the Panthers came no closer. They can blame a horrendous first half in which they were outgained, 346 yards to minus-four.

Paso Robles running back Andre Nickelson scored on runs of 24, 35 and 51 yards, the second put Paso Robles up, 21-0, at the end of the first quarter.

Nickelson finished with 225 yards in 31 carries.

Paso Robles (2-0), ranked No. 1 in Southern Section Division X, outgained Newbury Park, 477-136.

“You have to play 48 minutes to beat a team,” Svitek said simply.

The Panthers will have a chance to do that next week against Buena, though their quarterback will be Merrill, who still does not have full strength in his right arm after dislocating his shoulder in a passing league tournament in June.

“We just go back and rebuild,” Hurley said. “Merrill’s the next guy in line. Now he’s got to step up and take things over.”

Lombardo completed one of six passes for 11 yards and was under constant pressure the entire time. He was sacked four times for minus 38 yards.

Marcus Crawford, who rushed for more than 200 yards in a victory last week over Burroughs, had only 58 yards and a touchdown in 20 carries.

Paso Robles quarterback Bryan Botts completed eight of 12 passes for 208 yards, including a 67-yard touchdown pass to Adam Martinez and a 64-yard pass to Greg Mason, both in the first half.