VHS flag football plays against rival BHS

Jesus Martinez and Henry Hampton

November 12, 2025

Ventura Flag Football wins against the Bulldogs with a score of 33-0

VHS and BHS have been cross-town rivals since their creation. Flag football has been played as an official sport at VHS since the 2023-24 school year. This cross-town rivalry is seen in every sport. Both schools have spirit days during the week that are based off of the other school. Ventura has Buena Bookworm Day and Buena has the same day for Ventura. On Sept. 30 VHS played BHS in a rivalry flag football game. Ventura never conceded a touchdown and won the game 33-0.

Ava Ortman ‘26 threw for a total of 292 yards with 41 attempts. She threw four touchdowns with three of them being received by Mya Rodriguez ‘27. Ventura’s only rushing touchdown came from Vail Newman ‘27. Kaiya Cooke ‘26 had 83 yards with six receptions. Cooke had the highest average receiving yards for Ventura with 13.8 yards/reception. On the defensive side of the ball Amani King ‘27 led the team with three sacks while Danika Simpson ‘26 led the team with five solo tackles. King caused a combined loss of 22 yards.

Riley Hotzler ’27 preparing to make a touchdown catch passed by Ava Ortman ’26. Hotzler led the team in receiving touchdowns with 3. Photo by: Henry Hampton

Ortman said, “I was very confident in my team… I think my rushers did a great job, all of them, they had about six sacks tonight, they did really good.” Ortman was very confident in her team and it was not false as the Cougars did not let up a point and ended up scoring five touchdowns. Cooke said, “Yeah I feel like our crowd has pretty good energy, and I think our sideline has good energy too so I think that just feeds into how we play on the field and how successful we are.”

Shaylee Torres ‘26 said, “I think absolutely it does whether it be in the stands or us just cheering for our own teammates. I think a lot of it is just hyping each other up and having that support just helps us play a lot better.”

Cooke and Torres think that the noise from Ventura’s sideline during the game helps to make the team excited and it helps them perform better. The team’s union and the support it receives from the crowd and sideline could be considered a factor to how they have been performing.

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About the Contributors

Jesus Martinez, Staffer

Jesus Martinez is a sophomore at VHS in his first year in The Cougar Press. He enjoys various activities including running cross-country and track, hiking outdoors, camping, going to the beach, cooking, photography and taking part in volunteer work. His favorite soccer team is Real Madrid and his favorite movie is Despicable Me 2.

Henry Hampton, Staffer

Henry Hampton is a sophomore in his first year at The Cougar Press. He enjoys playing the guitar, backpacking, running and photography. His favorite place to backpack is in Yosemite. He aspires to be a biochemist.