Week three of the local high school football season features a full slate of games all weekend, with three teams playing on Friday and a pair of squads suiting up for Saturday matchups.
The undefeated Santa Barbara Dons will face another test by welcoming another unbeaten squad in Moorpark to Peabody Stadium. Across town, Dos Pueblos will take on Viewpoint in its home opener.
The San Marcos Royals round out the Friday action by heading down the 101 to face off against the Buena Bulldogs.
On Saturday, Bishop Diego will play host to Northgate in an afternoon game at La Playa Stadium while Carpinteria High hits the road to face off against San Gabriel.
Here is a quick look and prediction for each of this weekend’s matchups. Through three weeks, my prediction record is 9-3.
Moorpark (3-0) @ Santa Barbara High (3-0)
The Dons are coming off a dominant win over Dos Pueblos last week, but they will have to turn around and face one of their tougher opponents so far this week.
Laird Finkel has been unstoppable under center for Santa Barbara, throwing for 837 yards, nine touchdowns and only one interception through three games.
The strong passing attack paired with 86.3 rushing yards per game and five scores from Bode Fauskee has opened up an elite offensive attack for the Dons.
This matchup will be broadcast live by John Martony on KZSB AM 1290, KZSB FM 96.9, am1290kzsb.com and at Streema.com/Radios/KZSB. The broadcast begins at 6:45 p.m.
Moorpark has also found plenty of success on the offensive side of the ball thanks to a potent rushing attack that features two running backs over 150 yards on the ground in Carson Melzer and Noah Salgado.
While the Musketeer defense has allowed just 21 points in the last two weeks, they surrendered 41 points in a shootout with Rio Mesa, a team much more comparable to the Dons’ offense.
I expect this game to feature a lot of offense, with the Dons coming out on top behind the home crowd’s energy and another strong game from Finkel.
The Pick: Santa Barbara High
Viewpoint (2-1) @ Dos Pueblos (0-3)
The Chargers return home coming off a loss to Santa Barbara High last week where several key starters were held out due to the nature of the matchup and precautionary measures.
Kaleb Williams, the focal point of the team’s offense so far this season, was one of those players who was held out. Williams has rushed for 228 yards and two scores in his two games of action.
It has been a rough start to the season for Dos Pueblos, who has been outscored 117-13 and has thrown for 78 total yards through the first three losses of the year.
Meanwhile, Viewpoint is off to a 2-1 start to the season with victories over Kauai High of Lihue, Hawaii and California City. The loss was a lopsided 55-6 defeat at the hands of Santa Paula.
The Patriot offense has leaned on Darren Haggerty and Jadon Lemmonds, who have accumulated 253 receiving yards and 173 rushing yards, respectively.
While Viewpoint has the stronger record, Dos Pueblos has faced far tougher opponents through three games. As long as Williams has a big night on the ground, I see the Chargers getting on track with their first win in their home opener.
The Pick: Dos Pueblos
San Marcos (2-1) @ Buena (1-2)
The Royals are riding high following last week’s 23-13 win over Santa Ynez that featured 16 unanswered points in the second half and big games from Cole Dominguez and Remi Boykin.
Dominguez leads the team in rushing with 228 yards while Nate Jones has punched in a team-high four touchdowns. Through the air, Boykin has accounted for 140 of Danny Diaz’s 293 passing yards.
The San Marcos defense has been stout all season, allowing just 23 total points in three games played while forcing four turnovers and collecting 12 sacks.
On the other sideline, the Bulldogs got into the win column with a 23-19 victory over a winless Fillmore team last week.
Buena’s defense struggled out of the gate before a solid performance last week, allowing 38 points in each of the team’s losses to Saugus and Canyon High.
Last season, the Bulldogs pulled out an 11-7 win over the Royals. However, San Marcos has looked much improved through three games while Buena is off to a rocky start. Give me the Royals to pick up the road win.
The Pick: San Marcos
Northgate (1-1) @ Bishop Diego (2-1) (Sat, 1 p.m.)
The Cardinals have put together several impressive showings in the early season, including a 21-point win over Salesian and a narrow one-point loss to a strong Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks team.
Much of that success can be attributed to the three-headed monster of quarterback Tua Rojas, running back Oscar Mauia and wideout Nick Malesky on the offensive side of the ball.
Rojas has thrown for 400 yards and seven touchdowns, Mauia has rushed for 420 yards and three scores Malesky has totaled 173 yards and three touchdowns. The offense as a whole has scored more than 30 points in each of the first three games.
The Northgate Broncos are coming off their first loss of the year to Campolindo High after defeating Dougherty Valley to open the season.
Playing out of Walnut Creek, the Broncos will be making the long drive down for Saturday’s afternoon matchup, which could play a role in the outcome of the game.
Ultimately, I think the Cardinals stay hot and pull out a win over Northgate, who may be the least tough of the four opponents Bishop Diego opens the season with.
The Pick: Bishop Diego
Carpinteria (1-0) @ San Gabriel (1-2) (Sat, 7 p.m.)
After having last week’s game canceled due to lack of officials, the Warriors are entering just their second game of the season on Saturday against San Gabriel.
Carpinteria will look to take advantage of the week off with plenty of fresh legs on a team where many players are forced to go both ways.
As they did in the win over Hollywood High a few weeks ago, the Warriors will likely lean on quarterback Sawyer Kelly and running back Isaya Gonzalez for production offensively.
San Gabriel, meanwhile, has three games under its belt, including a 48-14 win over Rosemead High.
I expect this to be a close matchup, but the lack of depth on the Warriors’ sideline may come back to haunt them in a road game.
The Pick: San Gabriel