CAMARILLO, CALABASAS SAVOR PLAYOFF VICTORIES : NEWBURY PARK AWAITS SECOND ROUND AFTER MUDDLING PAST VENTURA.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Daily News Staff Writer

In a week in which two area teams won playoff games for the first time in years, Newbury Park had to overcome the biggest obstacle by playing on a field that was more like mud lake than a gridiron.

Here's a closer look at some of the highlights from the first week of the Southern Section playoffs:

Mud Bowl: Newbury Park High School somehow figured out a way to beat Ventura, 7-0, Friday despite a playing field that was better suited for mud wrestling than football.

In short, Ventura's Larrabee Stadium was an oversize mud puddle by the time the Cougars and Panthers lined up against each other in a Division III first-round playoff game, thanks to last week's heavy rain. Both teams were hampered by the tough conditions, with Newbury Park's high-wire passing attack limited considerably and Ventura's powerful running game all but grounded to a halt.

The key for the Panthers was their offensive line, which afforded quarterback Chris Czernek enough time to throw the ball. Czernek finally capitalized on the opportunities when he found his brother, Nick Czernek, alone in the end zone on a 17-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter for the winning points.

``When I saw him wide open like that my eyes just lit up,'' said Chris. ``I almost kicked myself because I under-threw him a little bit.''

Game plan: Because of the nasty conditions, Newbury Park decided to go with a shotgun formation to avoid any fumbles on snaps. The plan almost backfired early when two balls sailed over Czernek's head, but Newbury Park avoided trouble by keeping the Cougars out of the end zone.

``The offensive line played great,'' Czernek said. ``The whole team did. We just did what we had to do win the game. That's what makes this win so great.''

Line play: Despite throwing the ball more than 600 times this year, the Panthers' offensive line has allowed just six quarterback sacks all year. That, and Czernek's great decision-making, has been their key to success.

Exciting finish: Calabasas won its first playoff game in 10 years Friday and the Coyotes waited until the last second - literally - to make it official.

Calabasas beat Ontario Christian 17-14 when David Rosenburg kicked a 39-yard field goal as time expired.

``In all the years I've played football I've never been on a team that won a game with a field goal as time ran out,'' said Coyotes quarterback Scott Quigley. ``It was pretty exciting.''

Big play quarterback: Quigley was instrumental in the win, guiding Calabasas on the game-winning drive despite the fact that he didn't have any timeouts to use when, with just 1:16 left to play, the Coyotes began the march at their own 40-yard line.

On the last two plays of the drive, Quigley gained 10 yards on consecutive runs around the corner. On the final play, he thought he got out of bounds with 16 seconds left but was in for a big surprise.

``The ref marked the ball in bounds so with time running out, the offense got off the field and the field goal team came running on. When (Rosenburg) kicked the ball, the last second was ticking off.''

Revenge: Calabasas now gets St. Bonaventure, which defeated the Coyotes big-time earlier in the year. It was a loss that left lasting impressions on Quigley.

``They spanked us pretty good,'' he said. ``But we're confident. We feel like we can beat them.''

Getting the kinks out: Playing in its first playoff game in quite some time, Camarillo figured to take a little while before hitting its stride against Pasadena.

And that's exactly what happened as the Scorpions found themselves behind, 14-13, in the second quarter.

But Camarillo got back on track quickly enough, reeling off the next 41 points to win 54-14.

``The important thing is that we got the win,'' said Scorpions' quarterback Joe Borchard. ``We sort of hit a slow part there in the second quarter, but fortunately we got it together and started playing well.''

Borchard thinks Camarillo's initial playoff experience took some getting used to.

``It was the first playoff game for all of us so we were pretty nervous at the start of the game,'' he said. ``But I thought we settled down and then started playing our game.''