Football Recap: James Strong III Key Part of Team Effort in Cougars Win

Rancho Cucamonga was handed a 28-point loss in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Friday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past the Damien Spartans 24-22. For the Cougars, this counts as revenge for the 34-31 victory the Spartans walked away with the last time they faced one another back in November of 2024.

Jacob Chambers

Rushing Yards

10/03/25 @ Damien	85
09/12/25 vs Chaparral	38
09/05/25 vs Oak Hills	25
09/19/25 vs Centennial	-1
08/22/25 @ Murrieta Valley	-9

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Rancho Cucamonga to victory, but perhaps none more so than James Strong III, who rushed for 106 yards and one TD on only 14 carries, and also picked up 96 receiving yards and one touchdown. Strong III's longest reception was for an incredible 76 yards. Rancho Cucamonga also got a significant boost from Jacob Chambers, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 85 yards.

They were just one part of a punishing run game: Rancho Cucamonga was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 262 rushing yards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 91 rushing yards per game earlier this season, but in their last five contests they've averaged 188.

Another reason for the win was Rancho Cucamonga's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for 6.5 sacks. Zen Latu refused to say out of the backfield, picking up four sacks all by himself. He was another major factor on D, picking up four sacks and making six total tackles (5.0 for loss).

Damien lost despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was Isaiah Arriaza, who threw for 200 yards and a pair of TDs, and also rushed for 54 yards. Another back making a difference was Malachi McFarland, who rushed for 77 yards and one score on only five carries.

Rancho Cucamonga picked up their first road win, bumping their record up to 2-4. As for Damien, their defeat was their first of the season and makes their record 5-1.

Rancho Cucamonga has already played their next game, a 42-7 victory against Upland on the 10th. As for Damien, they also didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next matchup, a 49-31 win against Etiwanda on the 10th.