Football Game Preview: Highlands Owls vs. Jefferson Mustangs

The Highlands Owls will square off against the Jefferson Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.

For some reason, the away team has come away with the win the last four times Highlands and Burbank have met, but the home crowd finally got their W on Thursday. The Owls took a 29-15 bruising from the Bulldogs. The Owls have struggled against the Bulldogs recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost matchup.

Although Highlands took the loss, they still got scores from Devante Riley and Jermiah McKane.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Jefferson). They strolled past Burbank with points to spare last Friday, taking the game 42-25. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Mustangs considering their 13-point performance the contest before.

Jefferson's win came from a few key players Highlands will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Aiden Urdiales, who threw for 95 yards and two touchdowns.

Jefferson was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 215 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in November of 2024.

Jefferson's defense made their presence known, laying out Roman Garcia four times. In that department, Marco Godinez was the leader with two sacks. Godinez is also crushing it when it comes to total tackles: he's made at least six every time he's taken the field this season. Jefferson got some further help from Aaron Garcia: he picked up a sack and made nine total tackles in addition to snagging an interception.

Jefferson's first win this season bumped their record up to 1-5. As for Highlands, their loss dropped their record down to 1-6.

Highlands was dealt a bruising 31-0 defeat at the hands of Jefferson in their previous matchup back in October of 2024. Will the Owls have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more football content.