The Bella Vista Broncos will head out to take on the Rio Americano Raiders at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Bella Vista is likely headed into the matchup with a focus on the second half, which is when things went downhill against Ponderosa on Friday. The Broncos took a 28-21 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Bruins. While losing is never fun, the Broncos can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 462nd, while the Bruins are ranked 220th).
Although Bella Vista took the loss, they still got scores from Dvaughn Norwood, Riley Durazo, and Hugo Lopez.
Don't try to pin the team's loss on the defense: they kept the trenches locked down and allowed a mere 2.6 yards per carry. The team can thank Lopez for the heroic effort on defense: he. Bella Vista's ground attack was stronger, having averaged 4.2.
Bella Vista's defense didn't let Colton Ridgley, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for six sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Nathaniel Delucchi and Lopez, who racked up four sacks between them.
Meanwhile, after a string of three wins, Rio Americano's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They fell 20-7 to Woodcreek.
Rio Americano's record now sits at 3-3. As for Bella Vista, they now have a losing record of 2-3.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. Bella Vista has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 193.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Rio Americano struggles in that department as they've been averaging 157 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Bella Vista couldn't quite get it done against Rio Americano in their previous meeting back in October of 2024 as they fell 34-23. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Raiders' Arnez Campbell, who threw for 231 yards and a pair of TDs, and also rushed for 44 yards and one score. Now that the Broncos know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
