Preview: Rio Vista Rams vs. San Juan Spartans
Rio Vista is 9-1 against San Juan since January of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Rio Vista Rams will head out on the road to challenge the San Juan Spartans at 6:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Rio Vista has four straight wins, San Juan has 11 straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Even though Rio Vista has not done well against Highlands recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. Rio Vista simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Highlands 51-20 on the road. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory Rio Vista has posted since December 4, 2023.
Rio Vista got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Guadalupe Valdenegro out in front who dropped a triple-double on 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Valdenegro has scored all season. Samiah Holley was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 12 points and ten steals.
Meanwhile, San Juan came up short against Esparto on Friday and fell 49-40. That's two games in a row now that San Juan has lost by exactly nine points.
Rio Vista is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a massive bump to their 10-8 record this season. As for San Juan, they bumped their record down to 0-10 with that defeat, which was their seventh straight on the road.
Rio Vista beat San Juan 21-12 in their previous meeting back in February of 2023. Will Rio Vista repeat their success, or does San Juan have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
