The562’s football coverage for the 2026-27 school year is sponsored by Long Beach Poly alums Wendell “WoWo” Moe, Jr. & Tyson Ruffins.
The562’s coverage of Cabrillo Athletics is sponsored by the Cohn Family.
Cabrillo will get an early indicator on how much they’ve improved when the Jaguars travel to Big Bear for some Saturday afternoon football.
Big Bear handed Cabrillo a 43-0 loss last year as they controlled the tempo as they relied on their run game with 173 yards and four touchdowns.
This time around, Cabrillo coach Malcolm Manuel believes his team enters the matchup better prepared and much more comfortable with what it wants to do on both sides of the ball.
“I think this year we are a better team in terms of understanding the offense and defense that we run,” Manuel said. “We’ve watched countless amount of film on Big Bear and the kids are confident and excited. They believe they can win.”
That confidence will be tested against a Big Bear program that Cabrillo knows well after last season’s meeting. Rather than entering the game unfamiliar with its opponent, the Jaguars have spent significant time studying what Big Bear does and preparing for the challenges they expect to see.
Fernando Leanos will look to keep Big Bear off balance as he looks to build from his 300-yard passing performance in the opening game.
Manuel said the Bears haven’t dramatically changed their approach from last season, but their personnel will look different.
“They run the same things but they lost a lot of guys from last year’s team,” Manuel said. “A lot of guys are going both ways.”
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday.
