Barstow and Granite Hills are an even 5-5 against one another since October of 2016, but not for long. The Aztecs will host the Cougars at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Barstow is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last four games.
Barstow will bounce into Thursday's contest after beating Silverado, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. The Aztecs walked away with a 24-17 victory over the Hawks on Friday.
Nicholas Gaoa
| 09/12/25 vs Sultana | 3 |
| 09/05/25 @ Segerstrom | 3 |
| 10/17/25 vs Silverado | 2 |
| 10/03/25 @ Victor Valley | 2 |
| 08/28/25 vs Serrano | 1 |
| + 1 more games |
Nicholas Gaoa was his usual excellent self, rushing for 262 yards and two scores. He is becoming a predictor of Barstow's success: when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns the team is 3-1 (and 1-2 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Aloalii (Alo) Lealofi, who picked up 109 receiving yards and one TD.
Barstow didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited Silverado to a completion percentage of just 50%. That dominant aerial defense primarily came from eight players: Iosefa Lealofi, Jayden Douglas, Xavier Collins, Degan Cardenas, Ronald Russell III, Aloalii (AJ) Lealofi, Anthony Stanton, and Elijah Leleimene, who each logged one passes deflected. Sadly, that's becoming something of a trend for Barstow; they were averaging 59.7%completion percentage earlier this season, but in their last three games they've fallen to only 59.7%.
Meanwhile, Granite Hills lost 42-21 to Victor Valley last Thursday.
Granite Hills has also been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 4-4 record this season. As for Barstow, they now have a winning record of 4-3.
Barstow beat Granite Hills 34-27 in their previous matchup back in November of 2024. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was the Cougars' Aamir Sneed, who rushed for 100 yards and one touchdown, and also threw for 266 yards and one TD. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will the Aztecs still be able to contain Sneed? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
