For the first time this season, Capistrano Valley will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. After each having a week off, they and the Western Pioneers will shake off the cobwebs and hit the field against one another at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Capistrano Valley barely beat Foothill the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Cougars really took it to the Knights for the full four quarters, racking up a 42-7 win. The result was nothing new for the Cougars, who have now won three contests by 20 points or more so far this season.
Talon Spencer produced another solid effort throwing for 208 yards and three touchdowns while completing 76.2% of his passes, and also rushing for 57 yards and a pair of scores on only seven carries. Jolan Gonzalez also helped with two TDs in total.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Capistrano Valley proved: they limited Foothill to a paltry 2.4 yards per carry. While eight picked up at least one total tackle, Gonzalez stood above the rest. He picked up 79 receiving yards and two scores. Capistrano Valley didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 7.5.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Western). They took their matchup last Friday with ease, bagging a 55-6 victory over San Dimas. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Pioneers' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 101st, while the Saints are ranked 263rd).
Capistrano Valley better keep an eye on Chance Thomas. He was instrumental in Western's win, throwing for 336 yards and seven touchdowns while picking up 15.3 yards per attempt, and also punching in one TD on the ground. Thanks to that big game, Thomas is now up to 18 passing touchdowns on the season. Maxwell 'Bunchie' Young also helped out as he racked up 136 receiving yards.
The win made it two in a row for Capistrano Valley and bumps their season record up to 4-1. The victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 38.5 points over those games. As for Western, their record now sits at 4-1.
| Passing Yards | 746 |
| Passing Touchdowns | 15 |
| Passer Rating | 100.8 |
| Rushing Yards | 302 |
| Rushing Touchdowns | 2 |
Friday's game will pit two of the most dominant signal callers against one another: Spencer and Thomas. Spencer just won't slow down this season and has thrown 15 touchdowns while averaging 149.2 passing yards per game. Thomas has been a dominant force too and has thrown 18 touchdowns (and and only 3 picks) while averaging 258.6 passing yards per game.
Capistrano Valley beat Western 35-25 when the teams last played back in October of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Cougars since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
