The Ventura Cougars will head out on the road to challenge the Newbury Park Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Newbury Park will be up against a hot Ventura team: the squad just extended their winning streak to three. The Cougars took their contest on Friday with ease, bagging a 49-7 win over Dos Pueblos. Given the Cougars' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 163rd, while the Chargers are ranked 529th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.
Derek Garcia
| 09/19/25 vs Dos Pueblos | 154.9 |
| 09/20/24 @ Dos Pueblos | 143.8 |
| 10/11/24 vs Moorpark | 138.6 |
| 10/18/24 vs Royal | 128.8 |
| 11/01/24 vs Oxnard | 118.8 |
Ventura got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Derek Garcia out in front who threw for 256 yards and three TDs while completing 73.3% of his passes, and also punched in one touchdown on the ground. The dominant performance also gave Garcia a new career-high in passer rating (154.9). Jack Cunningham was in the mix as well, providing Ventura with three scores.
Ventura's run defense was locked in: Dos Pueblos could only muster 1.3 yards per carry. While three picked up at least three total tackles, Nathan Radwich stood above the rest. He picked up a sack and made three total tackles (2.0 for loss). Ventura didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 6.3.
Meanwhile, Newbury Park scored the most points they've had this season two weeks ago, but it wasn't enough. They fell 46-41 to St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on September 5th (35), the Panthers still had to take the loss.
Ventura will need to focus on slowing down Brady Smigiel, one of several Newbury Park players who made an impact when they last played. He threw for 293 yards and three TDs, and also punched in one touchdown on the ground. Matthew Curry was Smigiel's top target, picking up 128 receiving yards and a pair of scores.
Newbury Park's defeat was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 1-3. Those road losses can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they've averaged 30.8 points this season. As for Ventura, their win bumped their record up to 3-1.
Ventura took a serious blow against Newbury Park in their previous matchup back in September of 2024, falling 43-14. That matchup was all but decided by halftime, at which point the Cougars were down 36-0.
