Newbury Park Panthers

Last season's results: (Tied for 2nd in Marmonte, 8-4 overall). After a five-year postseason absence, the Panthers returned to the playoffs last year, and while there, beat Paso Robles, 39-36, before losing the following week to a tough St. Bonaventure team, 49-13, in the second round. NPHS came out of the gates looking unbeatable by winning six in a row in 2005, capped by a 23-16 win at home against eventual league champion Moorpark.

Notable returnees: Colby Cameron, jr., QB; Jason Andersen, sr., DB/WR; Scott Takeguma, sr., DB/WR; Anthony Leonardi, sr., K/P/WR; Mike Ferrari, sr., DL/OL; Nick Cwayna, sr., DL/OT; Brian Koenig, jr., LB/RB Impact Newcomer: Jackson Powell, soph., DE/TE Who They Play: The Panthers' schedule is tough. They open with nonleague games against the top two Pacific View League teams-at home vs. Camarillo (Sept. 8) and Rio Mesa on the road (Sept. 15). It doesn't get any easier once league starts. Newbury plays Westlake (Sept. 29), Simi Valley (Oct. 20) and Moorpark (Oct. 27), all on the road. On the upside, they'll get a chance to avenge last year losses against Royal (Nov. 3) and Thousand Oaks (Nov. 10) at home.

Overview: The Panthers have their work cut out for them after losing their two best offensive weapons in quarterback Jordan LaSecla (4,070 passing yards) and wide receiver Josh Baker (1,571 receiving yards). Head Coach George Hurley has been impressed with new junior quarterback Cameron, saying that he's more of a pocket passer with a strong arm who rarely seems to throw interceptions. Hurley hopes Cameron can learn quickly as the Panthers would like to throw the ball as many as 40 times per game.

Though the offense is very young, the defense should have few problems. Three of the team's four starters in the defensive backfield return this year. Junior linebacker Casey Lamont and defensive end Brady Johnson join seniors Ferrari and Cwayna to form a solid unit that'll have to step up their games while the offense may struggle to find its form at the beginning of the year.

In a nutshell: Last year the Panthers defense did a great job against Marmonte League opponents by holding them to under 19 points per game. They'll need to put up the same kind of performance early while the offense learns to work together. After winning six games in a row to start '05, the Panthers lost two of their final three games-on the road against Thousand Oaks and Royal- by a combined eight points. Those two losses cost the team a league title and forced them to start the playoffs on the road as the Marmonte's No. 3 seed. This year could be easier down the stretch since they'll be at home. With only 20 seniors currently on the team, the Panthers still could be a year away.