Rio Mesa and Oxnard are an even 5-5 against one another since October of 2014, but not for long. The Rio Mesa Spartans are taking a road trip to face off against the Oxnard Yellowjackets at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Rio Mesa will head out to face Oxnard after giving up their first home loss of the season on Friday. Rio Mesa fell 28-21 to Pacifica. The defeat continues a trend for the Spartans in their matchups with the Tritons: they've now lost three in a row.
Despite the loss, Rio Mesa got top-tier performance from JJ Bittner, who rushed for 151 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries, and also threw for 188 yards and a touchdown. Bittner's longest rush was for an impressive 62 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Rio Mesa also got a significant boost from Isaiah Bautista, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 91 yards.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Rio Mesa was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 308 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 193 rushing yards in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, after only seven points in their last contest, Oxnard made sure to put some points up on the board against Bellflower last Friday. Oxnard claimed a resounding 50-6 win over Bellflower on the road. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory the Yellowjackets have posted since September 8, 2023.
Poni Maria went supernova for Oxnard, throwing for 135 yards and six touchdowns while completing 71.4% of his passes. Victor Menendez was Maria's top target, picking up 61 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Rio Mesa's defeat dropped their record down to 2-2. As for Oxnard, their win (their first of the season) made their record 1-2.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the trenches. Rio Mesa has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 261.2 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Oxnard, though, as they've been averaging only 71. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Everything came up roses for Rio Mesa against Oxnard in their previous meeting back in October of 2023 as the team secured a 41-7 victory. In that match, Rio Mesa amassed a halftime lead of 27-7, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
