Ventura and Rio Mesa are an even 5-5 against one another since September of 2014, but not for long. The Ventura Cougars will head out to challenge the Rio Mesa Spartans at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Ventura is looking to tack on another W to their four-game streak on the road.
Last Friday, Ventura beat Oxnard 19-9. Given the Cougars' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 151st, while the Yellowjackets are ranked 342nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Ventura's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Derek Garcia led the charge by throwing for 176 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 37 yards. That's the most rushing yards Garcia has posted since back in September. A healthy portion of Garcia's aerial production (111 yards to be exact) went to Jack Cunningham, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
Meanwhile, after soaring to 34 points the game before, Rio Mesa was a bit more limited in their game on Friday. They had to suffer through a 41-2 loss at the hands of Newbury Park. The Spartans were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 31-0.
This is the second loss in a row for Rio Mesa and nudges their season record down to 6-4. As for Ventura, their record is now 7-3.
Friday's contest will pit two of the most dominant signal callers against one another: Garcia and JJ Bittner. Garcia just won't slow down this season and has thrown 25 touchdowns while averaging 235.9 passing yards per game. Bittner has been a dominant force too and has thrown 16 touchdowns while averaging 220.2 passing yards per game.
Ventura came up short against Rio Mesa when the teams last played back in September, falling 33-20. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Bittner, who threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns. Now that Ventura knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
