Moorpark hasn't had much luck against Ventura recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Musketeers are taking a road trip to face off against the Cougars at 7:00 p.m. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Moorpark sitting on four straight victories and Ventura on six.
Moorpark is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 31-28 win over King. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Musketeers have posted since August 23, 2024.
It was another big night for Logan Moon, who rushed for 110 yards on only eight carries, and also threw for 25 yards and one TD.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Moorpark was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 300 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in November of 2024.
Meanwhile, Ventura earned a 42-31 win over Salesian on Friday.
Ventura's win came from a few key players Moorpark will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Derek Garcia, who rushed for 121 yards and one score on only nine carries, and also threw for 147 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only 14 passes. His longest rush was for an impressive 52 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Ventura's leading receiver Tristan Savage was Garcia's top target yet again, picking up 45 receiving yards and one TD, while also rushing for 42 yards and a pair of scores.
Moorpark's record is now 10-1. As for Ventura, their record now sits at 9-2.
Friday's contest will pit two of the most dominant signal callers against one another: Moon and Garcia. Moon just won't slow down this season and has thrown 10 touchdowns while averaging 65 passing yards per game. Garcia has been a dominant force too and has thrown 29 touchdowns while averaging 224.6 passing yards per game.
Moorpark came up short against Ventura in their previous matchup back in October, falling 34-23. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Cougars' Jack Cunningham, who picked up 190 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Now that the Musketeers know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
