SOUTHERN SECTION: VENTURA NEEDS ELEMENT OF SURPRISE AT NEWBURY PARK.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Daily News Staff Writer

Phil McCune has a problem. Ventura High's veteran football coach is trying to figure a way to defend Newbury Park's high-powered offense, but he doesn't have an answer yet. Time is running out. Newbury Park hosts the Cougars in a Southern Section Division IV opening round playoff game tonight at 7:30.

If McCune doesn't come up with something fast, the Panthers will advance to the second round easily.

So far, game films have shed no light. McCune has watched previous Newbury Park opponents blitz quarterback Nick Czernek, only to get burned by the long ball. Others defended the Panthers' wide receivers with elaborate coverage schemes, but that took away from the pass rush and gave Czernek too much time to find an open man.

At this point, this is what McCune and the Cougars are working against: Newbury Park has a poised quarterback working behind an experienced line and a handful of wide receivers like Cause Hanna, Tyler Johnson and Brian Swett to target.

``And that running back (Ryan) Shipton can kill you,'' McCune said.

So what's your move, coach?

``There's only two or three ways you can try to stop them,'' McCune explains. ``You can try to blitz them or you cover all their guys. But then there's Shipton, and he might be scarier than the quarterback and the receivers.''

In other words, if you can't stop them, you have to outscore them.

On that front, maybe the Cougars have a chance. Their option offense is something Newbury Park has not seen this year. Perhaps through the element of surprise - or sheer unfamiliarity - Ventura can jump on Newbury Park the way Arroyo Grande did last year in an opening-round upset victory.

It's a long shot, but it's the Cougars' only hope.``If we can't run the ball, we're in a world of hurt,'' McCune said.

Newbury Park has to be wary of Tyler Ebell, Ventura's sophomore running back who has 1,115 yards.

In other opening-round Southern Section playoff games:

Long Beach Wilson at Notre Dame: The Knights (8-2) have exceeded expectations in their one-year forayin Division I. Along the way was a huge upset over Loyola, a close loss to Bishop Amat and some big-time individual performances from WR Todd Fenton, DT Travis Johnson, QB Seth Oseransky and DE Alec Moss.

Highland at Hart: The Indians (8-2) learn about life without Jerry Owens in a Division III first-round game against the Bulldogs (3-7.) Owens is out for the year after breaking his right leg in the final game of the year. Don't worry, QB Kyle Boller (3,721) and WRs Jared Bazar and Shane Lavoie are still around. The Bulldogs are led by RB Brandon McElvaine (1,142 yards).

Westlake at San Marcos: This game features some of the top players in California. San Marcos (3-7) QB Bradlee Van Pelt, the son of former NFL great Brad Van Pelt, is a running and throwing threat, having exceeded 1,000 yards in both categories. The Warriors (8-7-1) have their own weapons in RB Julian Lambert, TE Mike Seidman and WRs Travis Campbell and Chris Catalano.

Crespi at Littlerock: The Lobos' (10-0) power-running game is tough to stop once it gets rolling. If Crespi (5-5) can't get a handle on RBs Rodney Woods (1,133 yards, 15 TDs) and Keith Williams (838 yards), it will be a long night for the Celts in a Division III game.

In other Division I games, Loyola is at A.B. Miller. In Division III, Canyon visits Lancaster, Saugus is at Arcadia, Muir hosts St. Francis, Palmdale travels to St. Paul, Alemany hosts Pasadena, and Valencia hosts Crescenta Valley.

In Division IV, Santa Barbara is at Camarillo, Thousand Oaks hosts Lompoc, Moorpark travels to Buena, and Rio Mesa plays at San Luis Obispo.