Weston Ranch football will hit the road to take on Franklin High School tonight at Franklin. The Cougars (4-4 and 2-3 in the SJAA) are riding a two-game winning streak and will look to make the Yellow Jackets (0-8 and 0-5 in the SJAA) their third consecutive win. A victory tonight would guarantee Weston Ranch would finish at least 5-5 overall and perhaps secure its first winning season at 6-4 should they get past Linden next week in the season finale.

The Cougars rolled over Chavez High School, 62-28, last Friday at Chavez. Scoring nine TDs and amassing over 400 yards of total offense, Weston Ranch was the type of night the Cougars needed to put the resilient Titans away.

Weston Ranch jumped out to an early 27-0 lead, but Chavez scored 16 second-quarter points and seemed to have figured out how to slow down the Cougars, holding them to one TD in the second quarter. The Cougars were in a similar position during the Bear Creek game (WR led 22-0 in the second quarter), eventually losing to the Bruins in the game’s final minutes. So, it was up to the Cougars to prove they had learned from that earlier setback.

“The Chavez game was interesting,” said head coach Ron Wayman. “At the start of the game, it seemed that we were firing on all cylinders jumping out to a 27 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Chavez players and coaches were not going to let us get away. They outscored us 16-6, and we went into the half up 33-16. It was reminiscent of the Bear Creek game, and honestly, my thoughts went back there, where we went up big to only lose at the end of the game.”

Weston Ranch showed they did learn and scored 29 second-half points, eventually completing the night in a lopsided win.

“Although the final score would seem like a blowout, we still have things we can do to get better,” Wayman added. “We gave up too many big plays, and we had a turnover that led to our opponents scoring. However, to the credit of this Cougar team, we overcame those and put back-to-back wins on the board, which hasn’t happened in a few years.”

QB Jose Aguilar, who returned after a four-game absence, lit the Titans up on the ground and through the air. Aguilar, a junior, was 13-18 passing for 320 yards and five TDs. He also rushed for two TDs, capping off the brilliant return.

Christopher Buttram (2TDs), Namir Brown Sanger (2 TDs), and Joshua Mellion (1 TD) were on the receiving end of Aguilar’s five TDs.

“It was fantastic to have Jose Aguilar back in the mix after missing almost four games. His being back really helped,” Wayman said. “And once again, our seniors, Chris Buttram and Namir Brown-Sanger led the team like they have all year.”

Weston Ranch will need the same kind of effort tonight as they take on Franklin. The Yellow Jackets are winless on the season and have been outscored by opponents 366-60 for those eight games. On paper, it looks like the Cougars should breeze through this game and savor their third win in a row. However, you must play the game, and Weston Ranch will take the field as they always do.

“As we look forward to playing away at Franklin, we know they will be ready,” Wayman said. “Although from their record, you would think we could easily overlook them, but we can’t. The coaching staff and the players of Franklin will have a game plan and will be ready for us when we get there.”

Aguilar will bring his 853 total yards passing and 11 TDs to Franklin and look to continue his remarkable passing season. It should be noted, again, that Aguilar has done this in five games. He will no doubt continue to look for Buttram (5 TDs and 383 yards), Brown-Sanger (3 TDs and 281 yards), and Mellion (5 TDs and 310 yards) to get the Cougars rolling offensively.

“We need a better game out of our team leadership this week,” Wayman said. “We will need Jose to play better and have better ball control. Namir and Chris will need to be again focused on both sides of the ball and lead the team, and our offensive and defensive lines will have to control and stop Franklin.”

A lot is riding on tonight’s game for the Cougars. A win guarantees at least a 5-5 finish and gets them closer to a possible 6-4 finish (the program’s second-best finish since 2005) if they can beat Linden next week at Weston Ranch.

“We cannot get complacent and must be prepared for a battle,” Wayman concluded. “The Cougars this week have been practicing as we will be in a battle. Our goal this week is to have another win and make it three in a row. It will take a team effort to make this happen.”

Kick-off for tonight’s game at Franklin is slated for 7 pm. The JV will begin the evening at 5 pm.