Newbury Park's Brady Smigiel is The Star's All-County Football Offensive Player of the Year
On a Friday night this fall, there was only one place to be in Newbury Park.
Under the bright lights of Hurley Field.
“It was must-watch football,” Brady Smigiel said.
Ten wins, a share of a Canyon League title and berth in the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 final represented on-field progress for the Newbury Park High football program.
But Smigiel was especially proud of the impact the Panthers had on their community.
“There were a lot more people at the games this year,” Smigiel said. “The crowd was much louder. Every person in the stands had a yellow pompom. The sidelines were so filled up, especially during those playoff games.
“This year we really brought the community together.”
The draw, of course, was Newbury Park’s sensational sophomore quarterback and his teammates, who combined to rewrite the Ventura County record book and host the program’s first sectional final at Hurley Field.
“Our offense is really fun to watch,” Smigiel said. “We throw the ball around. The line has my back. The defense figured it out at the right time, which was great for us.”
But at the center of it all is the quarterback, who has — just halfway through his high school career — already put himself in the conversation as one of Ventura County’s all-time best.
The Star’s All-County Offensive Player of the Year completed 282 of 479 passes for 4,222 yards and 52 touchdowns, breaking the Ventura County record for single-season passing touchdowns set by Camarillo’s Jake Constantine in 2015.
Only fellow Newbury Park quarterbacks Chris Czernek (4,360, 1995) and Keith Smith (4,244, 1993) threw for more yards in a single season.
Just two years into his career, he has already broken the Ventura County career touchdown passes record of 90 — set by Westlake’s Zac Wasserman from 1998 to 2000 — and moved into sixth on The Star’s all-time county passing list with 7,701 yards.
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He is on pace to eclipse Newbury Park legend Smith as the county’s all-time leading passer and become the county’s first 10,000-yard and 100-TD passer.
And, of course, he’s still improving.
“I used to be able to (mess) with him at practice, goading him into protections he didn’t want to be in,” said Newbury Park defensive coordinator Ron Wilford. “He picks up those little nuances now.
“And I think he’s gotten a lot better at finding the hot guy. That’s definitely improved.”
Co-offensive coordinator Austin Civita remembers Smigiel returning to the weight room after his freshman basketball season and asking, “What do I need to better this year?”
They settled on making the game easier by improving his ability to read and manipulate defenses with his eyes.
“He figured it out,” Civita said.
Wilford argued that Smigiel is even better than he has shown thus far, because he’s really only used his legs in the pocket.
“The scary part is he doesn’t run much yet,” Wilford said. “He stays within the parameter of our offense. If you watch him, he can really run.”
Smigiel was protected by an offensive line of tackles Carson Berry and Luke Rugee, guards Araya Stolsig, Preston Marchlick and Tyler Seefeldt, and center Joel Gonzalez.
While his receiving corps returned one of the top targets in Southern California in Shane Rosenthal, transfers Landon Bell and Blake Bryce were new and twin brother Beau Smigiel was coming off an ACL repair.
“It just didn’t click for us right away,” Smigiel said. “Losing a lot of seniors, we had a lot of guys from JV who had to step up, a couple new offensive linemen and some new receivers. The chemistry wasn’t what the staff wanted through three games.
“But what made this season special was it clicked.”
Smigiel remembers the bus ride home from the 63-52 loss at Santa Maria-St. Joseph on Sept. 1 as a turning point.
“It was a tough loss with a two-hour bus right home,” Smigiel said. “I think it really brought us together.
“You can’t go to the CIF finals and not be one (as a team). We were down in every playoff game at some point. The fact that we were able to come back shows the character that we had.”
Newbury Park outlasted Ventura (42-30), Foothill (41-34) and rival Thousand Oaks (22-19) in the Division 5 playoffs before falling in the final, 55-34, to Perris-Orange Vista.
“The Ventura game was a great game,” Smigiel said. “Both Thousand Oaks games came down the end.”
Down 19-14 with 7:50 to play in the semifinal against Thousand Oaks, Smigiel drove the Panthers 80 yards in 15 plays, including an unforgettably clutch 14-yard pass to Rosenthal on fourth-and-13 with the season on the line.
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“It’s not a freak thing,” Wilford said. “He’s pretty natural. He puts the ball in small windows.
“There are times when we’ll just sit at practice and say, ‘Did you see that throw? How did he get that ball in there?’ ”
Smigiel isn’t going to play basketball or run track as a sophomore. Instead, he’s taking a break to rest and recover from a taxing season.
“I’m huge on mental health and taking care of my mind and body,” Smigiel said. “I think it’s important to give your body and your mind a break.”
He’s rehabbing the ankle injury he suffered in the playoff win against Ventura and charting out what should be a busy offseason of recruiting.
He may take a few unofficial trips with his family. UCLA, Oregon, Notre Dame, Michigan, Florida State, and Arizona, where his dad played for Dick Tomey, are among the potential destinations.
“I’m not going to rush it,” Smigiel said of his recruiting process.
Smigiel is ranked No. 14 and No. 22 nationally in the Class of 2026 by 247Sports and Rivals, respectively. He was also included in Sports Illustrated’s unranked list of the top 20 sophomores in the country.
Utah and Oregon State, the destinations of the last two great Newbury Park quarterbacks, Cameron Rising and Ben Gulbranson, have offered scholarships, as have more than 20 other schools including Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon and Penn State.
While the location remains to be determined, there is one dream scenario when Smigiel thinks of the next level.
He jokes with Rosenthal and brother Beau about what rooming in college would be like.
“Call that a package if you want,” Smigiel said. “I think it would be really special if all three of us could stay together.”
The Star's All-County Football Offense Second Team
Dominic Duran, Pacifica
Ethan LaSecla, Grace Brethren
Harrison Novak, Agoura
Jackson Taylor, Thousand Oaks
Robert Maria, Hueneme
Brolin Harrah, Thousand Oaks
Nathaniel Madrigal, Camarillo
Jojo Cruz, Fillmore
Aaron Cesario, Buena
Landon Bell, Newbury Park
Nico Mastrippolito, Oak Park
Cooper Cronquist, Moorpark
Jacob Mantei, Camarillo
Joey Ocegueda, Fillmore
Zach Nagy, Royal
Jack Slonicker, St. Bonaventure
Anthony Mata, Oxnard
Arturo Alcaraz, Santa Paula
Nico Santiago, Simi Valley
Kevin Ilano, Simi Valley
Anthony Simon, Calabasas
Joe Curley is a staff writer for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcspreps on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Brady Smigiel is The Star's Football Offensive Player of the Year
