Oceanside Pirates 28, Rancho Buena Vista Longhorns 9

On paper, Friday night’s game between the Rancho Buena Vista Longhorns and the Oceanside Pirates looked like the makings of a 50-point blowout. Though the spread wasn’t that large, it indeed proved to be a lopsided victory for the Pirates (4-1) as they defeated the Longhorns (0-5) by a score of 28-9.

Despite word earlier in the week from Oceanside coach Dave Rodriguez, much of the Pirates offense came on the legs of running back Niko Mageo. But the Pirates’ four scores were split evenly between Mageo and senior Anthony Martinez. Mageo’s two scores came in the 1st quarter, on a 35-yard run, and in the 2nd quarter, on a 43-yard run. Martinez first scored in the 2nd quarter on a 50 yard sprint following the Longhorns first field goal. He again scored on a 1-yard push after Robby Beardsley’s pass for 48 yards to Julian Hicks left the Longhorns less than a yard from the goal line in the 3rd quarter.

Splitting time behind center, Beardsley and Oceanside’s Max Shuffle combined to throw zero touchdowns, but Oceanside’s defense held the Longhorns to zero as well, setting up a win that again overshadowed a big rushing day for RBV’s Dominic Taylor.

Unofficial stats from Friday showed Taylor running for around 300 yards, giving the Longhorns’ senior running back more than 700 yards on the ground in the Longhorns’ last two games. Taylor came close to scoring in the 4th quarter, but was stopped short of the goal line on a 67-yard run that would lead to the Longhorns’ third and final field goal from kicker Devon Alvarado. A few of Taylor’s other long runs included a 23-yarder and a 46-yarder in the 1st quarter, and a 43-yard run and a 78-yard run in the 2nd quarter.

Taylor’s inability to make it into the end zone set up RBV’s Alvarado for a busy and challenging night. Alvarado was 3-for-3 on field goals attempted, splitting the uprights from 25 yards, 46 yards and 30 yards out.

PREVIEW:

The Rancho Buena Vista Longhorns’ road to salvaging the 2015 season presents this week the first of three back-to-back-to-back uphill challenges, as the 0-4 Longhorns will face the Oceanside Pirates (3-1) Friday night.

The game represents the start of the Longhorns’ toughest stretch, one which has RBV facing not only the Pirates, but in the weeks to follow, the San Marcos Knights and Mission Hills Grizzlies. RBV coach Paul Gomes knows his team will be put to the test.

But he also believes his team is hungry for a win after losing — the way it did — a close game a week earlier to Steele Canyon. In that game, RBV running back Dominic Taylor rushed for more than 400 yards, and his third touchdown of the game brought victory in reach by giving the Longhorns a 24-23 lead. But a late Steele Canyon score on Thomas Fishburne’s quarterback keeper gave Steele Canyon the win, and prevented Taylor’s stats from being the night’s headline.

"We’re going to prepare to the best of our ability," Gomes said Tuesday. "Last week, we actually played a good game. When you have a running back that rushed for 436 yards and you still lose, it’s kind of disheartening.

"It’ll be a big test again," Gomes continued. "It doesn’t get any easier the next three weeks."

Oceanside undoubtedly looks to hold the momentum in this one, having just come off a 30-8 win over San Pasqual last week, and holding the series momentum between the Longhorns and Pirates with the Pirates’ 32-point win over RBV in 2014.

But Oceanside coach David Rodriguez isn’t about to call this Week 5 game an easy win.

"For us, it’s just about trying to find the right combination," Rodriguez said. "I think we’re about to hit a point where things are hopefully gonna start to gel, in terms of personnel combinations."

Through the first four games of the 2015 season, Rodriguez has been disappointed by the Pirates’ turnover and penalty rates, and he said his team’s play has to tighten up as it nears mid-season.

"Coach Gomes and staff at RBV, I know they’re gonna be ready the same way that (San Pasqual) coach (Tony) Corley had his guys ready to go. That’s because here at Oceanside, we get everyone’s best shot, and we expect to get RBV’s best shot no matter what.

"We’ve got homecoming happening; we’re trying to limit as many distractions as we’ve got going on," Rodriguez added. "But I’m excited for our group. I’m excited for our team."

Look for Oceanside to spread some of its focus away from the Avocado-West League’s rushing leader, Niko Mageo, who Rodriguez said has been the Pirates’ workhorse but is due some more assistance.

"They’re a power football team," Rodriguez said of the Longhorns. "They are a downhill, run-at-you, stop-us-if-you-can football team. They’re a big, physical bunch, so we have to do what we can to raise up our intensity. We’re trying to be as balanced as possible, and he (Mageo) has been carrying the load. I’m sure the defenses are going to try to take him away. We’re gonna still give a steady diet, because I do believe that we have to run the ball to be successful, but for us, running the ball could also be to our slots. We’ve got to do a better job of executing with all of our guys."