Southern Section look ahead: Ventura County’s hottest teams meet, Camarillo vs. Oxnard

Ventura County is in the spotlight this week in Southern Section football when Oxnard (3-0) plays Camarillo (3-0) on Friday night at Moorpark College.

Both schools have been impressive in nonleague action and should find out plenty after this game. Camarillo quarterback James McNamara is a veteran player who’s always cool under pressure. Running back Jesse Valenzuela has speed and toughness.

Oxnard played lots of young players last season, so they’re ready to show what they can do against a good team. Running back Xavier Harris has been a standout.

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In other Southern Section games this week, Valencia (2-0) gets tested on Saturday when it plays Sierra Canyon (2-1) at Granada Hills in a battle of top 25 teams.

St. John Bosco will be the site for the Trinity League challenge. On Friday, the Braves will host Our Lady of Good Counsel from Maryland. On Saturday, JSerra will play Georgia Milton at 4 p.m. and Santa Ana Mater Dei will play Maryland St. Frances at 7:30 p.m.

La Habra continues its challenging nonleague schedule with a road game at Calabasas. La Habra owns a win over Upland and was beaten last week by Mission Viejo.

Norco and Vista Murrieta, both unbeaten, play at Norco. The Cougars have scored 52 and 59 points in their first two games behind quarterback Shane Illingworth.

Crespi, at 3-0, gets to face its former Mission League football rival Chaminade at Chaminade.

It will be the battle of the downtown skylines when Cathedral hosts Loyola.

Alemany, which was routed by Oaks Christian last season, gets to play the Lions again on Friday at home. We’ll see how much the young Warriors have improved in a year’s time.

Paraclete plays at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. The Knights are 2-0 and you should never take a Dean Herrington-coached team lightly.

San Juan Hills plays Edison at Huntington Beach in a matchup of competitive Orange County public schools.

Long Beach Poly plays at Gardena Serra. The two schools have a combined 14 players currently on NFL rosters.