The Rio Mesa Spartans will head out on the road to face off against the Ventura Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Rio Mesa will be strutting in after a win while Ventura will be coming in after a loss.
Rio Mesa took a loss when they played away from home last Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They walked away with a 40-28 victory over Camarillo.
Isaiah Bautista went supernova for Rio Mesa, rushing for 115 yards and three touchdowns on only 14 carries. With that strong performance, Bautista is now averaging an impressive 106 rushing yards per game. Another player making a difference was Noah Ramos, who gained 109 total yards and a touchdown.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Rio Mesa was moving up and down the field and finished the game with 511 total yards. That's the most total yards they've posted since back in August of 2023.
Rio Mesa's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Victor Lopez and Ramos. Ramos also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, making two total tackles and defending two passes in addition to snagging an interception. Another thorn in Camarillo's side was Angel Moreno, who picked up a sack and made 15 total tackles (1.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Ventura came up short against Thousand Oaks on Friday and fell 20-13.
Ventura's defeat came about despite a quality game from Derek Garcia, who threw for 260 yards and two touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes. A healthy portion of that aerial production (89 yards to be exact) went to Jack Cunningham.
Rio Mesa couldn't quite finish off Ventura in their previous matchup back in September of 2023 and fell 17-14. Can Rio Mesa avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
