Weston Ranch varsity football will take its 1-0 record on the road tonight as they travel to Mountain House High School. The Cougars and the Mustangs (1-0) will kick off at 7 pm.

Weston Ranch is coming off a thrilling 28-25 opening night win over Grace Davis High School in a game where the Cougars had to stop the Spartans at the one-yard line to secure the three-point victory. The Mustangs won their opening game in a 61-0 throttling of visiting Florin High School.

Tonight’s game will be the second meeting between the two schools. Weston Ranch beat Mountain House last year, 26-24, for its only win of the season. However, the Mustangs survived the loss, posted a 5-5 overall record, and finished third in the WAC at 5-2. Tonight’s game promises another thrilling contest between the more experienced Cougars and the up-and-coming Mustangs.

As a bonus, tonight’s game will be FOX 40’s game of the week, so excitement should be running wild at Mountain House.

“Last week against Florin High School of Sacramento, they (Mountain House) had a good game,” said head coach Ron Wayman. “This week will definitely be another test for the Cougars.”

The Cougars will need to corral the Mustangs QB, Amari Brooks. The Junior threw for over 1000 yards in 2021 and collected 11 passing TDs. Last week, Brooks went 5-7 passing, and three of those completions were for scores. His arm will pose a problem for the Cougars secondary.

“Their QB likes to scramble, so we will have to keep him inside the Tackles and make him very uncomfortable, forcing him to make mistakes,” Wayman said.

Weston Ranch will look to Senior Namir Brown-Sanger (235 all-purpose yards and two TDs), Junior RB De’antae Lavan (87 yards rushing and one TD), and Senior WR Chris Buttram (67 yards receiving and one TD) to lead the offense again. All three contributed big plays, and the Cougars need them to make another big contribution.

“Offensively, this week, we can’t have any turnovers, and our offensive line needs to open bigger holes for our run game and continue to protect our QB (Jose Aguilar),” Wayman added. “As a team, we must take our communication to the next level.”

Tonight’s game is another step in the program’s mission. The Cougars will need to be ready for a battle with another one of the Area’s premier high school football programs.

“As far as tonight’s outlook, it was a pretty good week of preparation,” Wayman said. “I am confident that we are prepared. I know that we are all committed and want to deliver another win. Last year’s game was good, and I expect no less this year.”