The Ventura Cougars will challenge the Arroyo Grande Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Ventura comes in on nine and Arroyo Grande on eight.
Ventura is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They claimed a resounding 63-28 victory over St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy. The Cougars' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
James Watson
| 11/29/25 vs St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy | 248 |
| 11/21/25 @ Agoura | 148 |
| 11/14/25 vs Moorpark | 127 |
| 11/07/25 vs Salesian | 145 |
| 10/31/25 @ Oxnard | 24 |
| + 1 more games |
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Ventura to victory, but perhaps none more so than James Watson, who rushed for 248 yards and four TDs while picking up 11.8 yards per carry, and also picked up 47 receiving yards. With that strong performance, Watson is now averaging an impressive 118.8 rushing yards per game. Another player making a difference was Derek Garcia, who rushed for 46 yards and a pair of scores.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Ventura was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 310 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 160 rushing yards in four consecutive games.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Ventura's defense and their ten sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Tristan Phillips and Kevin Vazquez, who racked up eight sacks between them. Phillips has been hot for a while, having also posted five or more total tackles the last ten times he's played.
Meanwhile, it may have taken overtime to finish the job, but Arroyo Grande ultimately got the result they hoped for on Friday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Bakersfield, sneaking past 23-20. The 23-point effort marked the Eagles' lowest-scoring contest of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Ventura better keep an eye on Caleb Clark. He was instrumental in Arroyo Grande's win, picking up 131 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 51 yards. That's the most receiving touchdowns Clark has posted since back in August of 2024.
Special teams played a big role in the game for Arroyo Grande, adding 11 points to the final score. All came from Dustin Reed: he went 3-for-3 kicking field goals for nine points, and 2-for-2 kicking extra points for an additional two.
Ventura's record is now 12-2. As for Arroyo Grande, their record now sits at 10-4.
