Newbury Park, CA — First came the rain. And when that left, so did the wind from Shane Rosenthal’s lungs. After taking a shot on a slant route, the Newbury Park junior was forced hold his breath on the sideline as he watched a third-and-13 with the season on the line. “When I went down, I was kind of scared,” Rosenthal said. “The wind got knocked out of me a little bit. I was running a slant and the safety came down hard.” That’s when the Conejo Valley rivalry’s first playoff showdown hinged on a single snap. Reentering the game, Rosenthal reeled in a 14-yard out route from Brady Smigiel on fourth-and-13 to extend the game-winning drive as Newbury Park came from behind to edge rival Thousand Oaks, 22-19, in the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 semifinals Friday night before a paid attendance of 4,844 at Hurley Field. “Being able to stick together really helped us drive down the field,” Rosenthal said. “We really believed in each other.” Down 19-14 with 7:50 to play, Newbury Park capitalized on Rosenthal’s end-zone interception to drive 80 yards in 15 plays — including two fourth-down conversions — taking a 22-19 lead on Jaxon McKinney’s 9-yard touchdown run and Smigiel’s conversion pass to Blake Bryce with 3:53 to play. “It was just a really emotional game on both sides,” Rosenthal said. “We had the whole community here. … We knew we had to stick together to get the job done. Before halftime, we were growing apart and we were being selfish. But we played the second half as a team and that really helped us get that win.” Becoming the first team in the rivalry’s 54-year history to win two games in the same season, Newbury Park (10-3) advanced to host Perris-Orange Vista (10-3) next Saturday for the Division 5 championship. Rosenthal caught eight passes for 124 yards and had two pivotal red-zone takeaways, a fumble recovery on the Newbury Park 4 in the first quarter and the end-zone interception in the fourth quarter. “You have opportunities and when you get those opportunities you have to execute and we didn’t execute,” Thousand Oaks head coach Ben McEnroe said. “We turned the ball over two times inside the 10-yard line and we had three or four really bad penalties. That’s the game.” On the night Thousand Oaks (9-4) snapped Smigiel’s 24-game touchdown pass streak to begin his career, Newbury Park was lifted by McKinney. “We had two running backs go down and he really takes over the game,” said Smigiel, who did not throw an interception after tossing seven in his first two matchups against Thousand Oaks. “That’s a really good defensive front. They know the run’s coming and McKinney is turning it into 4-, 5-yard gains every play. “That’s the person who Newbury Park football is. I know he’d much rather us win a CIF championship than ever play in a game.” McKinney, a backup cornerback who shifted positions last month when the Panthers lost their top two running backs, rushed for 124 yards and two TDs on 27 carries. “It was a team effort,” McKinney said. “It started with the line, started with the coaches, started with the quarterback and started with the play calling. Nothing about me. Just team, team, team.” Rosenthal called McKinney “the toughest kid in our team.” “You should see the way he practices,” Rosenthal said. “He’s one of the hardest workers on the field at all times. He’s a beast in the weight room. He’s always fighting for those extra yards. “Our offense would not shine without him. He’s a big-time player. Without him, I don’t even know what we’re doing.” Thousand Oaks sophomore quarterback Jackson Taylor completed 14 of 30 passes for 305 yards, two TDs and an interception. Scott Mahannah caught five passes for 129 yards and a TD. Silas Kemp caught five passes for 101 yards and a TD. Brolin Harrah ran for 100 yards and a TD on 12 carries. Linebacker Cory McEnroe had two sacks and defensive end Dean Harrington also had a sack to lead the Lancers defense. “It’s heartbreaking, but I’m so proud of these kids and the fight and determination,” said Ben McEnroe, who led Thousand Oaks to its first semifinal since 2015 in his first year as coach. “That’s T.O. football and that’s going to be T.O. football. We talk all the time about being tough to play against and they know they’re in the game. … Right now, I’m just hurting for my guys.” Newbury Park grabbed control early, taking the opening kickoff and driving 55 yards in six plays, jumping ahead 7-0 lead on McKinney’s 13-yard run just 2:09 into the game. The Lancers nearly answered on their second drive, after Taylor’s 39-yard strike to Kemp and 19-yard pass to Harrah moved Thousand Oaks inside the Newbury Park 5. But Rosenthal, setting the edge on a toss sweep, pounced on a loose ball at the line of scrimmage. Smigiel hit Bryce for 22 yards and Rosenthal over the top for 47 yards to set up a Balen Balencourt 2-yard TD plunge, which pushed the Panthers ahead 14-0 with 8:23 left in the half. Thousand Oaks responded with a massive 10-play, 80-yard drive, pulling within 14-7 on Taylor’s 17-yard TD pass to Kemp with 4:39 left in the half. “We get two scores down and we start to get worried about our of style of play,” Ben McEnroe said. “But we made some plays to get back into it. We had our opportunities.” The rain arrived late in the first half and poured for much of the third quarter, when the Lancers dominated to build a 19-14 lead. Mahannah broke a tackle to turn a stop route into a 78-yard TD pass on the second play of the second half. Harrah’s 2-yard TD run, set up by Taylor’s 44-yard play-action pass to Cory McEnroe, pushed the Lancers ahead 19-14 with two minutes left in the third quarter. After Harrah broke free for a 57-yard run to the Newbury Park 13, Thousand Oaks had a chance to build a two-score lead with eight minutes left. But Rosenthal’s interception in the back of the end zone — his state-leading 12th of the season, which broke the Ventura County single-season record — instead set the stage for the Panthers’ game-winning drive. “It came down to the penalties and the turnovers,” Ben McEnroe said. “It really did.” Smigiel hit Rosenthal for gains of 14 and 20 yards to move Newbury Park into Thousand Oaks territory. McKinney picked up a fourth-and-1 from the Lancers 35. “Being able to stick together really helped us drive down the field,” Rosenthal said. “We really believed in each other.” Facing fourth-and-13 from the Thousand Oaks 37 with 4:47 left, Newbury Park’s resolve was tested. “Everyone in the whole stadium knew where the ball was going,” Smigiel said. “So they’re putting everybody over there. … I just put it where only Shane could get it and Shane made a really good grab. The rest is history.” Smigiel’s 13-yard scramble moved the Panthers inside the 10-yard line and McKinney did the rest. “I just thought, ‘Two hands on the ball and make a play for my team,’ ” McKinney said. “We just kept believing and if you keep believing, good things will come.” With 3:53 with which to work, Thousand Oaks quickly moved across midfield on Taylor passes to Mahannah. Rosenthal appeared to clinch the game with a second interception with 2:45 left, but officials ruled the play out of bounds. Instead, the Thousand Oaks drive ended with two penalties and a fourth-and-5 incompletion, when Balencourt’s blitz forced Taylor to get rid of the ball. On a rainy night when Thousand Oaks kept Newbury Park’s record-setting tandem of Smigiel and Rosenthal out of the end zone, the Panthers pulled together as a unit and earned a shot at the program's second title. “The only two-man game is doubles in tennis or Ryder Cup golf,” Newbury Park head coach Joe Smigiel said. “It doesn’t happen in football. You need 11 guys to do it. ... That took an all-time belief in each other." Great win for the Panthers as they play for the CIF-SS Division 5 championship game next Friday 🏈