The Western Pioneers will face off against the Cypress Centurions at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
On Friday, Western came up short against El Modena and fell 28-21. The defeat continues a trend for the Pioneers in their meetings with the Vanguards: they've now lost three in a row.
Skylar Lendsey
| 09/19/25 @ San Dimas | 146 |
| 10/10/25 @ El Modena | 115 |
| 08/21/25 vs Salesian | 111 |
| 08/29/25 vs Villa Park | 96 |
| 09/11/25 vs La Mirada | 78 |
| + 2 more games |
Despite the loss, Western got top-tier performance from Skylar Lendsey, who rushed for 115 yards on only eight carries, and also picked up 31 receiving yards. Lendsey is becoming a predictor of the Pioneers' success: when he posts at least 80 rushing yards the team is 3-1 (and 1-2 when he doesn't).
While Western came up short, they sure didn't make it easy for El Modena: they limited their QB to completion percentage of just 40%. That dominant aerial defense primarily came from four players: Ose Enosegbe, Ayden Payne, Tywon Nesby, and Rufus Dogbah, who each logged one passes deflected. Western wasn't nearly as limited: they posted one of 55%.
Western didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Donavan Davis and Payne.
Meanwhile, Friday just wasn't the day for Cypress' offense. They had to suffer through a 42-0 loss at the hands of Capistrano Valley. While losing is never fun, the Centurions can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 227th, while the Cougars are ranked 66th).
Cypress now has a losing record of 3-4. As for Western, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-3.
Western didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Cypress in their previous meeting back in October of 2024, but they still walked away with a 28-22 win. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was the Centurions' Xavier Guerrero, who threw for 278 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 31 yards. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will the Pioneers still be able to contain Guerrero? There's only one way to find out.
