College-bound football players celebrated at annual VCFCA luncheon – Ventura County Star

Deville Warner was a part-time starter who came into his own as a senior linebacker at Pacifica High.
“He had one of the best years as a linebacker statistically that I’ve ever coached,” said Pacifica head coach Mike Moon.
Gavin Gray overcame the broken leg which cost him much of his junior year at Agoura High.
“He’s leaving Agoura as one of the most decorated passers in our school’s history,” Agoura head coach Dustin Croick said.
Both proved this spring that the college football recruiting process is never over under its over for local stars.
Due to their unique situations, Warner and Gray committed to Eastern Washington University and Washington State University in February and signed Division 1 scholarship offers in April.
“Although it never happens late, he had faith,” said Moon. “I had faith.”
They were two of more than 25 local seniors celebrated on Wednesday, April 29, at the Ventura County Football Coaches Association’s annual signing day luncheon at the Palm Garden Hotel in Newbury Park.
“When you have this dream, you have to be delusional about it,” said St. Bonaventure head coach Troy Hill. “Because there’s going to be guys out there who don’t see the vision that you see.”
The Class of 2026 was a bumper crop of local football talent, headline by four Division I quarterbacks: Gray, Newbury Park’s Brady Smigiel (Michigan), Ventura quarterback Derek Garcia (Nevada-Las Vegas), and Thousand Oaks’ Jackson Taylor (Boise State).
Other Division I signees included St. Bonaventure defensive end Matt Perez (Nevada-Reno); Simi Valley defensive tackle Isak Simpson (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo); Ventura linebacker Tristan Phillips (Oregon); St. Bonaventure defensive end Walter Moore (New Mexico); Newbury Park receiver Vincent Carner (Nevada-Las Vegas); Newbury Park receiver Devin Olmande (San Jose State); Thousand Oaks tight end Hayden Vercher (Arizona State); and Ventura defensive lineman Jordan Butcher (University of San Diego).
“You guys compete your tail off,” said Camarillo head coach Nate Anderson. “You have all represented this county really well.”
Agoura tight end Albert Bellingrath and Ventura receiver Jack Cunningham will be teammates at Western Colorado, a top NCAA Division II program.
Foes during the CIF-Southern Section Division 6 semifinals, Bellingrath and Cunningham spoke between plays about being future teammates.
“I’m super excited to work with him,” Bellingrath said. “Go Mountaineers.”
Pacifica safety Julian Hernandez, who played four varsity seasons for the Tritons, is headed to Division II Western New Mexico.
“He’s been such a big contributor to our team,” said Moon. “He had a very successful career for us.”
Among the locals who will stay home to play NCAA Division III football in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference are Camarillo running back Shane Feller (Pomona-Pitzer); St. Bonaventure center Ayden Klionsky (Claremont-Mudd Scripps); Ventura defensive lineman Dylan Klinzing (Cal Lutheran University); Fillmore running back Jasiah Patterson (CLU); Camarillo defensive lineman Jacob Ruiz (CLU); and Newbury Park tackle Tyler Seefeldt (CLU).
Ruiz, a four-year wrestler, did not let his limited playing time as a junior keep him from reaching his goal.
“It did not defeat him,” said Anderson. “He did not get outworked.”
Fillmore head coach Charlie Weis labeled Patterson, who amassed more than 200 hours of service for the Fillmore community, as “relentlessly positive.”
Newbury Park celebrated 10 players who are continuing their careers at various college levels, including Smigiel, Carner, Olmande, Seefeldt, lineman Blake Gibson (Coe), kicker Drew Adamson (Simpson), safety Jayce Ward (Ripon), safety Colt Ward (Ripon), cornerback Brandon Curry (Benedictine), and receiver Matthew Curry (Benedictine).
“As we know in this climate in college football, it’s very hard to get a Division I scholarship,” Newbury Park head coach Joe Smigiel. “How it works now with the transfer portal, sometimes you have to take a step backyard to take a step forward.
“It’s hard. It really is. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Ward will continue playing, despite missing his entire senior year with an injury suffered just before Week Zero in August.  
“He stayed with it, didn’t miss a practice and cheered his teammates on,” said Joe Smigiel. “It’s good for the kids to overcome that adversity, because bigger things happen later on in life. How you attack them and deal with them is going to shape your life.”
The 16 college-bound seniors in attendance had a chance to take the stage and address the room, working on their budding public speaking skills.
Gratitude towards family, coaches and teammates was a reoccurring theme.
A highlight of the afternoon was Joe Smigiel introducing his son Brady, who was in town after completing his first semester at the University of Michigan.
As Brady stood beside him, Joe warned the crowd that he “was going to brag a little bit.”
After leading Newbury Park to the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 championship as a junior, when he was crowned Cal Hi Sports’s Mr. Football, Brady Smigiel’s senior season was cut short by a season-ending knee injury on Oct. 3.
“We went through some incredible times,” said Joe Smigiel. “Just a lot of fun. It really was.”
He still graduated in December as the all-time passer in Ventura County history.  
“I think that was so special, having a different challenge every year, having different relationships every year,” Brady Smigiel said.
Joe Curley covers football for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcspreps on Twitter/X, Instagram/Threads, Facebook, Bluesky and TikTok.

source