HURLEY CONNECTION MEANS ROAD TRIP FOR N.P.

Byline: Jim Inghram Daily News Staff Writer

Typically for the season opener, a visiting team will pile into a bus and less than an hour later will arrive at its destination.

The length of travel for the Newbury Park football team will be relatively the same on Saturday. The team, however, is trading a bus for a Southwest Airlines 737.

Instead of opening in Ventura, Santa Barbara or the Valley, the Panthers are heading for Tucson, Ariz. - travel time approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes.

It's not as random a game as it might appear. The real reason the Panthers will be in the desert is because of the Hurley connection.

Newbury Park head coach George Hurley's eldest son Ethan is an assistant coach in Tucson at Sahuaro High, the Panthers' opponent.

It's the second meeting between the two. Last year, the Panthers defeated the Cougars 32-28 in Newbury Park.

This time, the Panthers are on the road.

``It's kind of fun,'' George Hurley, who has taken teams as far as Hawaii, said. ``There are a lot of distractions with the travel and staying in a hotel, but it's worthwhile. The kids have a lot of fun and it's a great way of having a team come together.''

The team held several fund raisers to come up with the necessary funds to travel. Each player had to pay $225. An installment plan has been used so payments could be made starting in May to lessen the sting of paying in one lump sum.

Newbury Park arrives at 12:45 p.m. Friday and will be picked up by Sahuaro. The majority of the afternoon will be spent resting. That night, the teams will have a spaghetti dinner. It's being sponsored by Sahuaro High's drama club and gives the players a chance to meet each other and be friendly.

Saturday at 7 p.m., however, things will change.

``We don't know much about them and they don't know much about us,'' George Hurley said. ``We're going there to win, because - Holy Smokes! - we're representing the whole state of California, but it's more fun, than life and death.''

Hurley bragging rights are also at stake.

``This game will be a little easier on me than last year's,'' Ethan Hurley, 27, said. ``Last year was tough. I mean I had been to every game at Newbury Park High from the age of 2 to age 23. The last time I stood on the visitor's sideline was in a 6th grade Pop Warner game. It was a little emotional for me.''

With the game at his adopted home, Ethan Hurley will be more at ease. The Cougars (1-0), which upset the state's No. 1 team in the preseason 4A poll (Sabino of Tucson) last week 20-19, will hope to do the same.

``We might have been nervous last year,'' Sahuaro head coach Nemer Hassey said. ``But we proved we could play with them. We know they are a very good team and will be one of the best we play.

``We like it that way. We play the best nonleague schedule we can to prepare ourselves for the playoffs. We want to be battle tested.''

George Hurley expects the same from the Cougars.

``They will be one of the better teams we play this year,'' Hurley said. ``They also have already played a game, which will give them a little advantage.''

George Hurley explained that this will be a happy and cheerful weekend, but he won't lose sight of one important thing. Winning.

``I'll probably spend the day at Ethan's Saturday and watch some football, maybe see (former Newbury Park standout) Keith (Smith) play against Stanford on TV and then go to the game and win.''

NEWBURY PARK vs. TUCSON SAHUARO

When: Saturday, 7 p.m.

Where: Sahuaro High School

League: Sonoran Conference, 4A

Rank: No. 4 in State 4A

Record: 1-0. Defeated state preseason No. 1 in 4A (Arizona has five classes), Tucson Sabino 20-19 on Sept. 4.

Enrollment: 1,827

Mascot: Cougars

Colors: Scarlet/Navy blue

Opened: 1968

Famous alumni: Phoebe Chalk, leading national businesswoman; Carol Carter, author; Rodney Peete, Philadelphia Eagles and former USC quarterback; Cindy Flom, LPGA golfer; Doug North, Olympic swimmer.

Directions: From I-10 east, exit Speedway Blvd. in Tucson. East nine miles to Camino Seco. Turn right. The school is 1-1/2 miles on the right.

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

PHOTO (Color) HURLEY

BOX: NEWBURY PARK vs. TUCSON SAHUARO (See text)