Happy Halloween 2026

Saturday, October 31, 2026

The "Trick or Treat" night of 2026 was going to be a wet one but the show still went on!

This just might be true

We were inspired by this German

team's Halloween post

Our mode was going to be simple as we would rely on Laurie's ability to face paint Senior Citizens.

Laurie looked cute

I looked a tad nefarious

We left Candy Corn lane to

attend a Halloween Party at the

Contreras Camarillo East Hacienda

Upon arrival, we were joined

by some serious hobgoblins

After a couple of hours, the rain started coming down in earnest.

With Laurie nursing a cold and I getting a scratchy throat, we opted to not go out tonight Trick or Treating with the grandkids.

Instead we returned home to greet our own Trick or Treaters properly and watch a key BIG-10 Conference football game on TV.

As for our Trick or Treaters, the rain kept them to a bare minimum of just four groups knocking at our door consisting of a total of perhaps 20 kids facing candy induced tooth decay because of our Treats.

 

As for that game . . .

Washington Huskies (4-3, 1-3 BIG-10)

at

Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-2, 2-2 BIG-10)

Could the struggling Huskies pull it together in a tough environment against a Cornhuskers team whose two losses came due to Fourth Quarter collapses?

The UW squad was coming into

the cornfield with swagger

The Huskies pack was in

a Halloween bloodlust mood

 

Unfortunately, despite the pre-game hype, the Huskies had left their Offense back in Seattle.

With the game clock at 2:00 in the Fourth Quarter and the score 10-7 in favor of Nebraska, we desperately needed one of those near patented Cornhuskers' Fourth Quarter collapses.

While I loved Nebraska's 50 yard-line

logo, our cat Gumball seemed unphased

It was at this point that the Huskies switched QBs trying to get a much needed spark after the two minute timeout with Demond Williams, Jr. now at the helm.

IT WORKED!

The Huskies drove right down the field as QB Williams hit WR  Chris Lawson to convert a 4th and 18 situation and then these same two hooked up on a go ahead 25 yard TD pass to take a 10-7 lead with 1:30 left in the game.

On the ensuing series, Husky DB Alex McLaughlin intercepted a Nebraska pass and returned it 48 yards for a PICK-SIX!

It was now a 17-7 lead for the Huskies with but 1:15 left in the contest.

The Huskers quickly drove into Field Goal range and opted to kick a 42 yarder that made it 17-10 Washington with 0:31 left and take their chances on recovering an onside kick in a desperate attempt to at least take the game to Overtime.

Their onside kick was recovered by the Huskies. GAME OVER!

 

HOW IN THE WORLD DID

ALL OF THIS HAPPEN!

Hard to say but it DID happen.

The Huskies (5-3, 2-3 BIG-10) are now on a modest but much appreciated two game winning streak after beating conference foes Purdue (3-5, 2-3 BIG-10) and Nebraska (5-3, 2-3 BIG-10) in successive games.

Washington is now tied for 11th place in the 18 team BIG-10 Conference with Michigan (5-3, 2-3 BIG-10), Purdue and Nebraska.

Up next for Washington is a home game next Saturday that kicks off at 12:30 p.m. against the Penn State Nittany Lions (4-4, 1-4 BIG-10).

Historically, the Huskies have lost all four of their previous encounters with Penn State.

1921 at Seattle, PSU 21-7

1983 Aloha Bowl, PSU 13-10

2017 Fiesta Bowl, PSU 35-28

2024 at State College, PSU 35-6

I will be joined at the PSU-UW game next Saturday by our good friend Julien Urgenti from our days together in Lyon, France with the 2013 French DIII National Champion Bron-Villeurbane Falcons (12-0) days.

Perhaps we will see an historic Washington win at last in this series.

Julien arrives in California tomorrow for a ten day Adventure in California and Washington. It should be a lot of fun!

Stay tuned for further developments . . .

Final Friday Night Lights of the 2026 High School Football Season

Friday, October 30, 2026

Today turned into a Plan B kind of day rather quickly.

Our Plan A was simple enough.

First, welcome our drywall man into our home to fix the gasping holes in our bathroom/TV room to get our now weeklong renovation hiatus back in motion.

Then, in the evening, meet Joanne and Paul Sabolić for a pre-game Mexican meal at Camarillo's El Tecolote Cafe followed by joining them at their son Jason's Simi Valley H.S. (5-4) game at Pacifica H.S. (7-2) in Oxnard.

It goes without saying that we would recap the night with the Sabolićs at Rolling Pin Donuts to end what would be another glorious edition of Friday Night Lights.

By the way, Pacifica beat Simi Valley tonight, 42-20.

Then life happened, ushering in Plan B.

The drywall man called to say that due to the potential rain today, he would have to reschedule us to next Monday.

Joanne Sabolić sent me a message that they would not be joining us after all as their grandkids' Trunk or Treat Halloween extravaganza would be held this afternoon making our dining/football game plans completely mute.

Our new plans called for working around the house to get it ready for our friend Julien Urgenti from Lyon, France who would be joining us for about ten days starting on Sunday morning.

I still wanted to go to a game tonight, but which one?

I had to factor in that Laurie was nursing a slight cold and wanted to stay home while Jacob and Michael would both be at the Buena-Camarillo game.

A real possibility

The Roosevelt H.S. Roughriders (1-8) vs. the Garfield Bulldogs (8-1) at East Los Angeles College meeting for the 91st time.

I opted not to go, thus missing the Bulldogs' 28-24 win in what was a tight game just as a rivalry of this magnitude should be despite the records.

Garfield finished the regular season at 9-1 overall and the 6-0 Eastern League Champions.

How about the Boulder League Championship match-up between the South Pasadena H.S. Tigers (7-2, 4-0 BL) and my ancestral home town public school, the San Marino H.S. Titans (9-0, 4-0 BL).

Nope, but I missed another good one with South Pasadena winning a tight one 19-14.

Well, my alma mater had a home Angelus League game this evening, the Paraclete Spirits (3-6, 2-2 AL) at your St. Francis Golden Knights (5-4, 3-1 AL). My SFHS Golden Knights laid an egg and it was decidedly not golden, Paraclete won 31-14.

The deciding factor in not going to any of these attractive games was the potential long solo drives.

Thus, I opted to stay in town for my latest football fix. My 31st American football game of the 2026 season.

Buena H.S. Bulldogs

0 Wins - 9 Losses, Overall

0 Wins - 4 Losses, Coastal 101 League

at

Camarillo H.S. Scorpions

4 Wins - 5 Losses, Overall

1 Win - 3 Losses, Coastal 101 League

It was Camarillo's Senior Night

Michael LOVES to take helmet photos

Buena's Program Motto

Despite their disappointing record, we would find the Buena coaches working their butt's off and watched the Bulldogs play hard even though their roster was a tad poor.

What we saw was a team that still had richness in its culture .

I arrived early at the stadium

It gave me a chance to talk with

Buena's Head Coach Ryan Bolland

When I was the DC at Buena in the early 2000s, Ryan was a fine, hard working player for us.

After graduating from Notre Dame four years later, he joined me as our OC in Sweden with the Hässleholm Hurricanes, thus the Hurricanes sweatshirt that I wore tonight.

Michael meeting with his Chain

Gang mates before the Kickoff

Michael was proudly sporting his

Trona Tornadoes t-shirt tonight

 

Buena Kicking Off to start the

game but where's the tee?

More on this phenomenon later in this post.

Camarillo Kickoff Returner

The first play from scrimmage

by the Scorpions was a . . .

. . . 75 yard TD run!

Later in the First Quarter this looked

to be another Scorpions TD . . .

. . . but this Bulldog defender did

NOT let him cross the Goal Line

Camarillo's QB scored on the

ensuing play

Buena kept fighting

This Buena dive ended with a FG

It was time to take another look at what Buena was doing with their Kickoff.

Just as I suspected, it was a

DROP KICK!

Unconventional to be sure but 100% legal. It was a great way to execute the Bulldogs desired pooch kicks.

I like it!

Halftime Score

Camarillo - 27

Buena - 10

In the Second Half, Camarillo

flexed their muscles via Big Plays

Buena scored late but it was not

nearly enough

Final Score

Camarillo (5-5) - 48

Buena (0-10) - 18

The only part of my original Plan A for the day that was not altered was . . .

. . . the post-game stop at Camarillo's

Rolling Pin Donuts

Can you say, "One Apple-filled Cronut, please."

I certainly did.

Interesting scores from around the high school football world tonight . . .

In Illinois, scoring madness

in the playoffs no less

Due to the length of the game because of all the scoring, the game had to be finished at a different stadium as the original game site had no lights.

Hmmm . . .

This actually happened a week ago in Washington, the Anacortes H.S. Seahawks (7-1) manhandled the Sehome H.S. Mariners (2-6), 68-20, in a 2A Northwest League affair.

Up by 35 points at the end of the Third Quarter thus invoking the Mercy Rule running clock, Anacortes/starting QB still threw two more TD passes in the Fourth Quarter.

Why?

Scores from the Ventura County

area games tonight

With the regular season now finished and the C.I.F.-Southern Section playoffs starting next weekend, let's take a look at the Champions of our five area circuits.

Marmonte League

Pacifica Tritons, 8-2, 4-1 ML

St. Bonaventure Seraphs, 7-3, 4-1 ML

Channel League

Moorpark Musketeers, 8-2, 4-1 CL

Santa Barbara Dons, 7-3, 4-1 CL

Coastal 101 League

Agoura Chargers, 9-1, 5-0 C101L

Tri-County League

Fillmore Chargers, 8-2, 5-0 TCL

Citrus Coast League

Grace Lancers, 8-2, 5-0 CCL

GOOD LUCK in the playoffs to all of these champions and the various other local teams who will make the playoff brackets that will be announced on Sunday.

A final note about area football as it relates to our local Oxnard Union High School District teams. It was a second straight poor set of results but at least better than 2025's, a combined regular season won-loss record of 18-52 with ten of those wins provided by State Finalist Pacifica.

In 2026, the final regular season records for the seven OUHSD schools was Pacifica 8-2, Camarillo 5-5, Del Sol 4-6, Oxnard 3-7, Rio Mesa 3-7, Channel Islands 2-8 and Hueneme 1-9. That makes for a 2026 combined record of 26-44, as I said, better but still with lots of room for improvement.

I like nostalgia

I LOVE what HC Bob Chesney is

doing at UCLA in his first season

with the program's mindset

PLEASE give us this TREAT

on Halloween Night

Who finds these obscure stats?

Our Rams MUST beat the

Chargers (0-6) this Sunday

Eight years ago

But of course!

Our Catania friends, Peppe and

Valeria Strano have a shop in Sicily

A delicious arancini in a great vacation seaside resort sounds wonderful to me!

GREAT POINT!

Election Day is this coming Tuesday. Don't wait, cast an early vote today like we did about ten days ago.

And when you do vote,

VOTE BLUE!

Jacob's Last Camarillo H.S. Frosh Football Game of the Season

Thursday, October 29, 2026

Jacob's Freshmen football season would come to an end today at home vs. a team from far off in the high desert town of Phelan, CA.

Serrano H.S. Diamondbacks

5 Wins - 4 Losses

at

Camarillo H.S. Scorpions

4 Wins - 5 Losses

An annual Photo Op before the game

Diego Renteria was a fine football player for us years ago at Rio Mesa H.S.

In order to keep involved in the game after high school, Diego became a referee and an excellent one at that.

Every season we randomly meet at a game that he is working and pose for a photo. Our random 2026 photo op happened today. 

The Captains meeting was soon . . .

. . . followed by the opening Kickoff

Closing in on the Serrano Kickoff Returner

The Diamondbacks ran the ball

efficiently to start the action

Here's hoping the #9's hand is OK

Getting physical in the Secondary

This Diamondback RB was a LOAD!

"Houston, we've got a problem . . ."

Pursuit and gang tackling were the

order of the day for the Scorpions

Lots of scrums today

Jacob blocking on a Kickoff Return

Sprinting to the Edge

Here come the Scorpions to the left

BOMBS AWAY!

Too much pressure on the

Scorpions' QB

. . . lean to the right . . .

End of the First Quarter

Serrano - 8

Camarillo - 0

Vertical Jump required

Around the corner again . . .

. . . and again with different backs

Nice grab!

TD Camarillo!

Jacob covering the ensuing Kickoff

Serrano's Student Body Right was

nostalgic to me at least

SWARM!

The Serrano workhorse broke

both of these tackles on the way to

a long TD

Spectacular catch on the Diamondbacks

2-point PAT attempt

Jacob blocking on the following

Kickoff Return

Who wants it more?

Yet another scrum

Almost a blocked Punt

Halftime Score

Serrano - 16

Camarillo - 7

Getting into the Spirit of Halloween,

Jacob tries to choke out this Diamondback

on a Kickoff Return

Run . . .

. . . run . . .

. . . until you finally score a TD!

Now that was a nice drive by the Scorpions.

Kickoff team sprinting again . . .

. . . and making the tackle

When they got the ball back,

Camarillo ran it some more

Getting to the Edge once again

Disaster, a Serrano DB cut in front

of this Scorpion WR to make a

drive ending Interception

End of the Third Quarter

Serrano - 22

Camarillo - 13

It was still anybody's game.

When in doubt,

RUN THE DAMN BALL!

Camarillo needed a stop . . .

. . . but didn't get it

Another Serrano Interception

pretty much sealed the game

Jacob got off this block and joined in

on a tackle for a minimal Serrano gain

Physical until the end

Keep playing hard Scorpions!

Running down a Swing Pass completion

Jacob, use the Force . . .

. . . and your speed to . . .

. . . earn yourself a . . .

. . . Strip-Sack of the QB!

Unfortunately, another Serrano player recovered the QB's fumble that Jacob had forced.

One more opportunity to . . .

. . . flush the QB as time expired

Final Score

Serrano (6-4) - 30

Camarillo (4-6) - 13

After the final game of Jacob's Frosh campaign, we all wanted to take a photo with our favorite Scorpion.

Jacob and Michael

George, Jacob and Michael

Vanessa, Jacob, Mary and Michael

Jacob with his two proud

Grandparents George and Laurie

It was a long and trying season but we are all so happy that he finished the season today healthy and having given great effort on every play throughout the ten game season.

GREAT JOB, JACOB!