Football Game Preview: El Modena Vanguards vs. Western Pioneers

The El Modena Vanguards will face off against the Western Pioneers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. El Modena will be strutting in after a win while Western will be coming in after a loss.

El Modena is returning home triumphant after the team finally put their road woes behind them against Trabuco Hills on Friday. The Vanguards took down the Mustangs 21-7.

Ethan Sorenson

Rushing Yards (Career)

10/03/25 @ Trabuco Hills	120
09/18/25 vs San Pedro	67
10/10/24 @ Western	56
08/29/25 @ Dana Hills	49
09/05/25 vs Newport Harbor	45

Ethan Sorenson went supernova, rushing for 120 yards and two TDs on only 14 carries, while also throwing for 139 yards while completing 73.3% of his passes. Those 120 rushing yards gave him a new career-high.

Sorenson was just one part of a punishing run game: El Modena was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 221 rushing yards. That's a new trend for the Vanguards: they were averaging 81.3 rushing yards per game earlier this season, but in their last five games they've averaged 166.3.

Meanwhile, Western entered their contest against Capistrano Valley on Friday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. The Pioneers had to suffer through a 41-14 loss at the hands of the Cougars. While the Pioneers didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Cougars 6-0 in the first quarter.

Western's defeat dropped their record down to 4-2. As for El Modena, the victory got them back to even at 3-3.

Everything came up roses for El Modena against Western when the teams last played back in October of 2024, as the team secured a 55-27 win. In that matchup, the Vanguards amassed a halftime lead of 41-14, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.