The Portola Bulldogs will head out to face off against the University Trojans at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Portola's defense heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Katella 38-0. The matchup marked the Bulldogs' most dominant victory of the season so far.
Jamal Abdelkarim
| 10/03/25 @ Woodbridge | 95 |
| 10/10/25 vs Katella | 84 |
| 08/22/25 vs Woodrow Wilson | 58 |
| 09/12/25 vs Beckman | 28 |
| 09/19/25 @ Northwood | 12 |
Portola got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Timothy Grettenberg out in front who rushed for 79 yards and two TDs. Jamal Abdelkarim also helped out with an impressive 84 receiving yards.
Another reason for the win was Portola's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. The team can thank three different players for their defensive prowess: Maxwell Mapstone, Avant Johnson, and Hamza Soliman, who each picked up one sack apiece. Portola got some further help from Mapstone: he picked up a sack, forced one fumble, and made ten total tackles (3.5 for loss).
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for University, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They walked away with a 10-2 victory over Buena Park on Friday.
Portola better keep an eye on Zion Barreto. He was instrumental in University's win, rushing for 95 yards and one score. Those 95 rushing yards gave Barreto a new career-high.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something University proved: they limited Buena Park to a paltry two yards per carry. The team can thank Marco Pablo Tirado for the heroic effort on defense: he. University's ground attack was stronger, having averaged 3.9.
University's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 3-4. Those home victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 5.3 points on average over those games. As for Portola, they now have a winning record of 4-3.
Everything went Portola's way against University when the teams last played back in October of 2024, as Portola made off with a 31-6 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bulldogs since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
