Two dominant backs in Jordan Johnson and Aaron Baizan are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Thousand Oaks Lancers will head out on the road to challenge the Santa Barbara Dons at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Santa Barbara took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Thousand Oaks, who comes in off a win.
Thousand Oaks gave up the first points on Friday, but they didn't give up any more after. They walked away with a 17-7 victory over Newbury Park. Those 17 points were actually the fewest the Lancers have put up all season, but given the result they're probably not too concerned.
Thousand Oaks can attribute much of their success to Hayden Vercher, who picked up 93 receiving yards and one touchdown.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Thousand Oaks proved: they limited Newbury Park to a paltry 2.3 yards per carry. The Lancers didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 6.5.
Meanwhile, Santa Barbara ended up a good deal behind Westlake on Friday and lost 33-14. While losing is never fun, the Dons can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 243rd, while the Warriors are ranked 94th).
The win made it two in a row for Thousand Oaks and bumps their season record up to 7-2. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 20 points in those games. As for Santa Barbara, they have traveled a rocky road recently, having lost three of their last four matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 4-5 record this season.
Thousand Oaks didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Santa Barbara when the teams last played back in November of 2024, but they still walked away with a 34-28 win. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was the Dons' Kai Mault, who rushed for 51 yards and one score, and also caught one TD. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for the Lancers to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
