Preview: Ventura Cougars vs. Channel Islands Raiders
Ventura is 5-0 against Channel Islands since October of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Ventura Cougars will be playing at home against the Channel Islands Raiders at 7:00 p.m. Ventura will be hoping to continue their three-game streak of scoring more points each match than the last.
Last Friday, Ventura humbled Buena with a 35-7 victory. The result was nothing new for Ventura, who have now won five games by 20 points or more so far this season.
Ventura found their leader in underclassman Derek Garcia, who threw for 209 yards and three touchdowns on only 15 passes. Mylan Walker also deserves a shout-out for his two touchdowns.
The team's defense also helped out by holding Buena to a paltry 147 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to Ventura's ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid him out nine times before it was all said and done. The heavy lifting was done by Nick Thomas and Bronson Thorpe who racked up five sacks between them.
Meanwhile, this season hasn't been kind to Channel Islands, who are still winless after their eighth matchup. They were outmatched by Santa Barbara at home and fell 52-0. While losing is never fun, Channel Islands can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 925th, while Santa Barbara is ranked 100th).
Ventura's victory on Friday bumped their record up to 6-3. As for Channel Islands, their loss was their ninth straight at home (dating back to last season), which dropped their overall record down to 0-8.
Everything came up roses for Ventura against Channel Islands in their previous matchup back in October of 2022 as the team secured a 54-0 victory. Does Ventura have another victory up their sleeve, or will Channel Islands turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
