The Simi Valley Pioneers will head out on the road to face off against the Bishop Diego Cardinals at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
It's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 48-16, which was the final score in Simi Valley's tilt against Oaks Christian on Friday. While losing is never fun, Simi Valley can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 152nd, while Oaks Christian is ranked 20th).
Simi Valley's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Brice Hawkins, who rushed for 151 yards while picking up 7.9 yards per carry, and Jayden Clarke who rushed for 37 yards and a touchdown. Hawkins really tore up the turf during one magnificent 70-yard run.
Bishop Diego fell on hard times earlier this season, but after back-to-back victories it seems like their luck might finally be changing. They came out on top against Westlake by a score of 28-21 on Friday.
Bishop Diego's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Oscar Mauia, who rushed for 48 yards and two touchdowns. Tua Rojas was another key contributor, rushing for 31 yards and a touchdown.
This is the second loss in a row for Simi Valley and nudges their season record down to 5-4. Admittedly, the team was facing some tough opposition over that stretch, including 7-2 St. Bonaventure (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 77.8% over those games). As for Bishop Diego, their victory bumped their record up to 3-6.
Simi Valley suffered a grim 49-28 defeat to Bishop Diego in their previous matchup back in October of 2022. Thankfully for Simi Valley, Qu'Ran Gossett (who rushed for 406 yards and six touchdowns on only 15 carries) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
