Only a sophomore, Brady Smigiel in position to pass by Ventura County's greatest QBs

Keith Smith is arguably the greatest quarterback Newbury Park High has produced.

Which is no small feat, considering the Panthers’ passing traditions.

Wayne Cook and Cameron Rising are the only Ventura County quarterbacks to start a Rose Bowl. Rudy Carpenter, Jordan LaSecla, Colby Cameron, Chris Czernek and Nick Czernek are also among the most productive passers in county history.

But Smith, who The Star named as Ventura County’s all-time quarterback when it unveiled its All-Century Team in 2000, is ready to let go of at least one of his prized school records.

Newbury Park quarterback Brady Smigiel, still just a sophomore, tied Smith’s 30-year-old school record for career touchdown passes last Friday by throwing his 87th in the Panthers’ 38-0 win at Oak Park.

“I’m happy it’s Brady,” Smith said. “I really am. I’ve trained him since he was a little kid. He’s not so little any more.”

Smigiel, who is still more than 3,000 yards shy of Smith’s career yardage mark, can make the TD record his own Friday night at home against Camarillo.

“That would be obviously cool,” Smigiel said last month. “I have a ton of respect for him.

“I’ve just looked up to Keith my whole life. Ever since I started playing football, I’ve watch Keith Smith highlights, whether they were from Newbury Park or Arizona.”

But the school record isn’t the only TD pass mark Smigiel can break Friday. The 6-foot-4 sophomore is now just three TD passes away from the Ventura County career mark of 90, set by Westlake’s Zac Wasserman from 1997 to 1999.

The former Penn State and UC Berkeley quarterback, who is now the offensive coordinator at Ventura High, didn’t know he still held the record until recently.

“I honestly didn’t even know that it still stood,” said Wasserman. “It’s crazy to look back on it.”

Wasserman, like Smith in 1993, was named Cal-Hi Sports’ state quarterback of the year after leading his team to a section championship in 1999.

Although he gives much of the credit of those high-scoring Warriors offenses to coach Jim Benkert, who called the plays, and an elite supporting cast.

“It was like the West Coast offensive at the time,” Wasserman said. “Multiple formations. It was kind of advanced for the high school level for sure. It helped me out at college with the different reads I had to make.”

Wasserman’s weapons included Mike Seidman (UCLA), Chris Catalano (Wisconsin), Joey Cuppari (Colorado State), Michael Brignac (Utah State), and baseball star Kevin Howard, the former Director of Player Development for the New York Mets.

“All these guys played D-1,” Wasserman said. “But the biggest thing was the camaraderie we all had. It was a close, tight-knit group. … The guys who were the core guys on the team were all really tight friends.”

Wasserman, who remains fourth on the county’s all-time passing list behind the Newbury Park trio of Smith, Chris Czernek and LaSecla, briefly played at Penn State under Joe Paterno and Cal under Jeff Tedford before returning home and becoming a private quarterback coach.

“I think what I realized in college was … what I tell kids all the time now,” Wasserman said. “Everybody in college is good. You have guys with big arms who are All-State or All-American. The biggest thing I noticed was the kids who are successful in college are the who put in the extra work. … I realized that a little bit too late.”

Wasserman's collegiate career ended when Tedford used his scholarship on an unknown from Butte College in Chico.

"I actually got cut for Aaron Rodgers," Wasserman said.

Prior to Ventura High, Wasserman has used his collegiate experience as a coach at Moorpark College, St. Bonaventure and Royal High. He also has a budding real estate business.

Having worked with Smigiel in the past, Wasserman has seen Smigiel in action.

“The arm talent is crazy,” Wasserman said of Smigiel. “But Brady puts in the extra work. He’s very detailed. He wants to know the little things. That takes you super far. He knows how to make those small adjustments that will get him a lot of value. … That’s next level for sure.”

Wasserman will be watching to see just how much Smigiel can improve upon his record.

“He’s going to tear it apart,” Wasserman said. “It’s going to be interesting how many he ends up with. … He’s been killing it, that’s for sure.”

This isn’t the first time the county TD pass record has stood the test of time.

After Hueneme’s Joe Davis threw for 38 TD passes from 1970 to 1972, the record stood for almost two decades, until Santa Clara’s Tim Gutierrez tossed 52 for the Saints from 1987 to 1989.

The record was tied or broken four times by Marmonte League quarterbacks during the pass-happy 1990s.

Royal’s Ryan Fien matched Gutierrez in 1991 and Simi Valley’s Eric Bennett pushed the mark to 55 in 1992.

Smith broke the record in the third game of his memorable senior year in September 1993, during a 42-28 win over Buena, and added 31 more scoring strikes on the way to the CIF-SS Division III title.

The University of Arizona quarterback owned the record for six years, until the 1999 CIF-SS Division IV championship game.

Wasserman entered Westlake’s first CIF-SS final tied with Smith with 87 and threw for three scores — two to Catalano and one to Brignac — in the Warriors' 24-21 win over San Luis Obispo at Cal Poly.

Although Wasserman still owns the county record, two local quarterbacks have eclipsed his 90-TD mark in the years since. Oaks Christian’s Jimmy Clausen threw for 146 from 2003 to 2006. Calabasas’ Tristan Gebbia threw for 141 from 2014 to 2016. They sit fourth and fifth on the CIF-SS all-time list.

With two full seasons remaining in his high school career, Smigiel is more than halfway to the CIF-SS record of 170, set by Jaylon Daniels of Cajon from 2013 to 2016. Folsom’s Jake Browning owns the state and national record of 229, set from 2012 to 2014.

After setting the freshman state record by throwing for 46 TDs last fall, Smigiel has completed 188 of 309 passes for 2,817 yards and 41 TDs as a sophomore. He’s the first quarterback in county history to throw for 40 TD passes in a season twice.

The state leader in TD passes per MaxPreps, Smigiel is now just 10 TD passes away from the county record of 51 in a season, set by Camarillo’s Jake Constantine during the Scorpions' run to the Division II-AA state bowl in 2015.

“That’s crazy,” said Constantine, who is now the quarterbacks coach at Sherman Oaks-Notre Dame. “They always say, ‘Records are meant to be broken.’ I’m excited to see if he gets it done. I think he can.”

Constantine was the conductor of a beautiful offense that included receivers Frankie Tostado, Elijah Alexander, Colby Stevens and Ryan Muscarella as the Scorpions became the first county team to win 15 games.

“I would definitely say I remember the wins more than the record,” said Constantine. “Getting to play each week in the playoffs was something special, more than having that record.”

Constantine saw Smigiel play in person during the Panthers’ win over Thousand Oaks last month.

“He’s fun to watch,” Constantine said. “He’s very poised. I just don’t think he gets rattled. That’s the most important thing to me. His ability to bounce back is his biggest trait. That’s not the easiest thing to do at a young age.”

Joe Curley covers high school, collegiate and professional football 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 in position to pass by some of county's greatest QBs