The Royal High football team is 5-0 for the first time in 35 years.
Landen Murray piled up 167 yards of total offense and four touchdowns as the Highlanders routed visiting Glendale, 49-12, on Friday, Sept. 25.
Playing his first full game after missing time with an injury, the senior running back ran for 72 yards and three TDs on eight carries and caught two passes for 95 yards and a TD.
Royal last opened a season with five wins in 1991, the Highlanders’ last unbeaten regular season.
“It’s not a bad start for us,” said Royal interim coach Cody MacArthur.
Royal, which opened up an early 10-0 lead and scored on all four second-half possessions, piled up 287 yards and six TDs on the ground.
Josh Garcia had 106 yards from scrimmage, running seven times for 76 yards and two TDs and catching a 30-yard pass. Joey Salazar ran for 116 yards on seven carries. Landon Schaffer also had a TD run.
Preston Murray completed all four pass attempts for 160 yards and two TDs. Adan Moses caught a 35-yard TD pass.
Anthony Ramos had a key early interception and had a team-high 13 tackles. Rish Sharma had an interception and Logan Rafiq had a sack. Skylar Batchelor blocked a PAT.
Royal, which has outscored opponents 215-41, opens Tri-County League play on Oct. 2 against visiting Santa Paula.
Rio Mesa 29, Oxnard 7
Sophomore Adrian Delatorre rushed for 125 yards and a TD on 25 carries as the Spartans scored 29 unanswered points to complete nonleague play 2-3.
Riding its first two-game winning streak since 2022, the Yellowjackets used an early goal-line stand and a 3-yard TD run by Aaron Salazar to keep their momentum going.
“We were doing some good things,” said Oxnard coach Lonnie McCowan.
But Rio Mesa was able to respond to grab its sixth straight win in the series, which dates back to 1969.
“After that, I felt like we pretty much controlled the game,” said Rio Mesa coach Jim Bittner.
Landon Edge threw a 27-yard TD pass to Neo Lewis and ran for a 34-yard TD to give the Spartans a 14-7 halftime lead.
Touchdown runs by Delatorre and Levi Zavala put the game away in the second half.
“We knew they’d be physical and they were,” McCowan said. “They were able to move the ball and sustain some drives.”
Edge completed 17 of 25 passes for 194 yards and a TD and ran for 67 yards. Lewis caught five passes for 63 yards and a TD and Nathaniel Martin caught seven passes for 85 yards.
Rio Mesa (2-3) opens Channel League play on Oct. 2 against league favorite Westlake, then travels to Moorpark on Oct. 9.
“That’s a good little doubleheader,” said Bittner.
Oxnard (2-3) will open Coastal 101 League play at Camarillo on Oct. 2.
Joe Curley covers football for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcspreps on Twitter/X, Instagram/Threads, Facebook, Bluesky and TikTok.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Royal reaches 5-0 for first time since 1991; Rio Mesa beats Oxnard
