DON’T LET THE RECORD FOOL YOU: RANCHO VERDE IS CLOSER THAN IT LOOKS

MUSTANGS’ DEFENSE, PHYSICAL RUN GAME AND VETERAN LEADERSHIP GIVE RANCHO VERDE PLENTY TO BELIEVE IN

MORENO VALLEY, CA — There are teams whose record tells you almost everything you need to know.

Then there are teams like Rancho Verde.

The Mustangs sit at 1–2 after three games, but that number alone doesn’t come close to telling the full story of what head coach Eric Zomalt and his group have shown through the opening weeks of the 2026 season.

Rancho Verde opened the year by beating Redlands East Valley 29–10, producing 282 rushing yards and four touchdowns in a performance that immediately showed what this team can look like when its physical style is working.

Since then, the wins haven’t come.

But neither has the collapse.

That distinction matters.

After falling 19–0 to Canyon, Rancho Verde went on the road Friday night and pushed Murrieta Mesa all the way into double overtime before losing just 7–0. That means a Mustangs defense that had already flashed toughness essentially gave its offense an entire night to find one score that could have changed the outcome.

That isn’t a program getting run off the field.

That is a team competing.

Through three games, Rancho Verde has surrendered just 36 total points — 12 per game. And in its most recent matchup, the Mustangs held Murrieta Mesa scoreless through regulation before the Rams finally broke through in the second overtime.

That gives Rancho Verde something every football program wants: a foundation.

Defense travels. Toughness travels. Physicality travels.

And the Mustangs have pieces capable of making that identity real.

Senior Uriah Celestine has been one of the early defensive leaders, with MaxPreps listing him at 6.5 tackles per game in the available posted statistics. Sophomore defensive lineman Matthew Craig has recorded a sack, while senior Isaiah Gilliam has added an interception.

Offensively, Rancho Verde has already demonstrated that it can move people and run the football.

The Mustangs rushed for 282 yards in the opening victory and still produced 132 rushing yards against Canyon. Senior quarterback and athlete Aaron Bowser has been one of the players at the center of that attack, leading Rancho Verde's posted rushing statistics at 65.5 yards per game with two total touchdowns.

And that's what makes Rancho Verde interesting going forward.

The Mustangs don't need to reinvent who they are.

They need to finish what they're already building.

The defense is keeping games within reach. The running game has already proven it can take over a night. There are seniors in important positions, young players contributing defensively and an experienced coaching staff that now has three games of film showing exactly what needs to improve.

The photographs tell part of that story, too.

Players sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, locked into what is happening in front of them. A sideline still together. A football team that looks like it understands there is a lot of season left.

And there is.

Rancho Verde returns home September 11 against Serrano before eventually moving toward an Ivy League schedule that includes Rancho Christian, Vista Del Lago, Poly, Liberty and Orange Vista.

So while 1–2 may be the record today, it doesn't have to become the identity of this team.

Because underneath that record is a defense capable of taking an opponent into double overtime.

Underneath that record is a team that has already rushed for nearly 300 yards in a game.

Underneath that record are athletes who have already shown they can make plays.

And underneath that record is still Rancho Verde — a program with expectations far bigger than three weeks of football.

The Mustangs don't need anyone to feel sorry for them.

They need to keep playing.

Because if the offense begins matching what the defense is giving them, Rancho Verde could become a very different football team very quickly.

The season isn't getting away from the Mustangs.

It may just be getting started.