HIGH SCHOOL NOTEBOOK

A week removed from notching victory No. 1 of the season, Oxnard High will take on No. 1.

Ready or not, the Yellowjackets (1-3), who defeated San Marcos, 20-14, last week, will play host to Ventura (4-0), the top-ranked team in the Section Section Division IV poll, at 7 p.m. Friday at Oxnard.

“We’re excited to be playing them,” second-year Coach Mark Beckham of Oxnard said. “We’re right about where we thought we would be and we’re looking forward to it.”

The Yellowjackets are not looking back on tough losses to Santa Barbara, 16-14, San Luis Obispo, 34-12, and Valencia, 35-6, except to chalk them up to learning experiences for a young team that includes seven sophomore starters.

“We knew they’d be tough, but that’s what you want,” Beckham said. “We look at these games as just getting us ready for the league season, and the league season as getting us ready for the playoffs.”

Ventura features Tyler Ebell, the region’s top running back with 1,406 yards and 19 touchdowns.

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Oxnard’s youth movement has been fueled by sophomores Tim Eglin and Aaron Brown.

Eglin has completed 23 of 55 passes (41.8%) for 193 yards, and run for 122 yards in 30 carries, a 4.1-yard average.

Brown is the team’s leading rusher with 239 yards.