The high school football playoff race is heating up, as Week 8 marks the halfway point of the league season for many of the local squads.
The three former Channel League teams will be at home on Friday as Dos Pueblos hosts Santa Paula, San Marcos welcomes Hueneme to town and Santa Barbara High celebrates Homecoming against Calabasas.
Meanwhile, Bishop Diego will hit the road for perhaps its toughest test of the year against undefeated Simi Valley in a Marmonte League showdown.
The Carpinteria Warriors round out the local squads with their Citrus Coast League opener against Channel Islands on the road.
Here is a quick look and predictions for each of this week's games. Through seven weeks, my overall record stands at 21-9-2.
The Chargers are coming off two solid performances to begin league action, taking down Hueneme and falling to a strong Agoura team after a back-and-forth battle.
The biggest reason for Dos Pueblos' newfound success is the introduction of transfer quarterback Simon Alexander, who has thrown for 336 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions in two games played. In their first five games, the Chargers had not thrown a passing touchdown.
The Santa Paula offense has been headlined by running back Allen Macias, who has accumulated 865 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns in seven games. However, he left last week's game against San Marcos early due to an injury.
If Macias is unavailable for or nursing an injury in Friday's matchup, the Cardinals may have a tough time moving the ball against the Charger defense.
I think Dos Pueblos continues to ride the momentum of a new offensive identity and gets above .500 in league play to vault itself into the playoff hunt.
The Pick: Dos Pueblos
The Royals are off to a hot start in Tri-County League action after winning each of their first two games while outscoring opponents 59-31.
The San Marcos identity has been clear throughout the year, as the team relies heavily on the defense and rushing attack to take control of games. However, the improvement of quarterback Danny Diaz has helped turn the team's playoff hopes into a potential reality.
Through six seven games, Diaz has thrown for 741 yards, 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions while also rushing for over 100 yards.
Meanwhile, Hueneme has had a rough start to league play with two straight losses after a solid 3-2 non-league schedule. However, the Vikings' three wins came against opponents that aren't at the level of this year's Royals team.
San Marcos is riding some strong momentum right now and I expect them to keep it rolling for a victory on Senior Night.
The Dons have not picked up a win since a 28-21 victory over Moorpark on Sept. 13, with the offense struggling to adjust following the injury to starting quarterback Laird Finkel.
However, Santa Barbara High did show signs of improvement on the offensive end last week in a 41-28 loss to Rio Mesa in which replacement quarterback Kai Mault rushed for 170 yards and threw for 140 yards.
While the offense flashed some life last week, the Dons have yet to put together a strong defensive performance in league play, allowing 76 points against two tough offenses over the last two games.
On the other side, Calabasas is also winless in league play after suffering losses to strong teams in Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park. In those games, the Coyotes were outscored 85-20.
I think this Santa Barbara High defense is much better than they have been performing the last two weeks and they get back on track on Friday, picking up the win in a low-scoring affair.
The Pick: Santa Barbara High
The Cardinals dropped their league matchup against Oaks Christian last week, but they turned in an impressive performance on the defensive end in the 13-0 loss.
Offensively, Bishop Diego struggled to get running back Oscar Mauia going, as his 73 rushing yards was a bit of a fall off from his season average of 128.9 yards per game. If the Cardinals are going to be competitive in this game, Mauia is going to have to turn in a big performance.
Quarterback Tua Rojas will likely need to shine as well in a game that could get high-scoring if Bishop Diego can keep up with a Simi Valley offense that has averaged 47 points per game.
The Pioneers are led by quarterback Tagg Harrison (1,556 passing yards, 14 touchdowns) and running back Brice Hawkins (855 rushing yards, 15 touchdowns), a duo that has given opposing defenses fits all season.
Bishop Diego's stout defensive line could help limit Hawkins, but the secondary may have trouble holding Harrison and the passing game in check. I see Simi Valley remaining undefeated this week.
The Pick: Simi Valley
The Warriors open up league play on the road following an up-and-down non-league schedule.
After winning back-to-back games to begin the season, Carpinteria has lost four straight games while being outscored 161-43. The struggles on both sides of the ball may be due to the team's small roster that forces the majority of players to go both ways for the entirety of the game.
However, Channel Islands has had its fair share of struggles as well, currently riding a five-game losing streak after winning the season opener.
Since the Raiders' win, they have yet to allow less than 35 points in a game and have not scored more than 12 in a contest.
I believe Carpinteria gets league action started on a high note against a Channel Islands team that has really struggled in recent weeks.