Football Game Preview: Del Norte Nighthawks vs. Rancho Bernardo Broncos

Del Norte is 1-9 against Rancho Bernardo since September of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Nighthawks will host the Broncos at 7:15 p.m. This will be Del Norte's first chance to prove their worth in the conference.

Del Norte is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They claimed a resounding 54-6 win over Chula Vista. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Nighthawks' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 170th, while the Spartans are ranked 670th).

Meanwhile, it may have taken overtime to finish the job, but Rancho Bernardo ultimately got the result they hoped for on Friday. They walked away with a 23-16 victory over San Diego. The win was just business as usual for the Broncos, who after five games remain undefeated this season.

Rancho Bernardo found their leader in sophomore Gaige Weddle, who rushed for 104 yards on only 12 carries, and also threw for 51 yards and one TD. Those 104 rushing yards set a new season-high mark for Weddle.

Special teams was a major factor in the game for Rancho Bernardo, racking up 11 points in total. All those points came courtesy of Enzo Flores: he added nine points with three field goals.

Del Norte now has a winning record of 3-2. As for Rancho Bernardo, their victory bumped their record up to 5-0.

Things could have been worse for Del Norte, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 28-14 loss to Rancho Bernardo when the teams last played back in October of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Weddle, who rushed for 92 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only 12 carries, and also threw for 187 yards and two TDs while completing 76.9% of his passes. Now that the Nighthawks know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.