Rio Mesa and Ventura are an even 5-5 against one another since September of 2014, but not for long. The Rio Mesa Spartans will face off against the Ventura Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. That match will pit two of the most dominant signal callers against one another: JJ Bittner and Derek Garcia.
Rio Mesa had been on a four-game streak of scoring at least 31 points, but Newbury Park put an end to it on Friday. Rio Mesa had to suffer through a 41-2 loss at the hands of Newbury Park. The matchup marked the Spartans' lowest-scoring game so far this season.
Meanwhile, Ventura came tearing into Friday's contest with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 15 points) and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against the Yellowjackets by a score of 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 win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Garcia, who threw for 176 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 37 yards. That's the most rushing yards Garcia has posted since back in September. Another pass catcher making a difference was Jack Cunningham, who picked up 111 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Ventura pushed their record up to 7-3 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 34.7 points per game. As for Rio Mesa, their loss dropped their record down to 6-4.
Rio Mesa was able to grind out a solid win over Ventura in their previous matchup back in September, winning 33-20. Does Rio Mesa have another victory up their sleeve, or will Ventura turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
