The Thousand Oaks Lancers will square off against the Newbury Park Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Newbury Park took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Thousand Oaks, who comes in off a win.
On Friday, Thousand Oaks was able to grind out a solid win over Rio Mesa, taking the game 21-13. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Lancers' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 125th, while the Spartans are ranked 400th).
The critical scores for Thousand Oaks came from Luke O'Neill, Luke Sullivan, and Adam Soto.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Thousand Oaks proved: they limited Rio Mesa to a paltry three yards per carry. The Lancers didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 6.7.
Meanwhile, Newbury Park fought the good fight in their overtime game against Westlake on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They took a 29-23 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Warriors. The Panthers' loss signaled the end of their three-game winning streak.
Thousand Oaks will need to focus on slowing down Darrien Johnson, one of several Newbury Park players who made an impact when they last played. He rushed for 101 yards and two TDs on only 13 carries.
Thousand Oaks' victory bumped their record up to 6-2. As for Newbury Park, their defeat was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 4-4.
We should be in store for an exciting game as the two teams have no problem gaining yardage. Thousand Oaks has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 367.4 total yards per game. However, it's not like Newbury Park struggles in that department as they've been averaging 404.9 total yards. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them.
Thousand Oaks was dealt a bruising 38-0 loss at the hands of Newbury Park in their previous matchup back in October of 2024. Will the Lancers have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
