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.
In search of its first win, the Cabrillo football team kicks off the week on Thursday in its home opener against Banning. The two teams will meet at 7 pm.
Cabrillo opened the season with a high-scoring 48-28 loss at Sonora before making the trip up to Big Bear on Saturday in a 56-7 loss. The Jags will try to pick up their first win on a short week against a Banning team that has outscored each of its first two opponents but sits at 1-1 after having to forfeit its Week 1 win over South East due to an ineligible player.
Senior quarterback Fernando Leanos has been finding his groove since the start of the season and had a three touchdown performance against Sonora. It’ll be important for Leanos to find his most reliable target in sophomore Stephen Walker, who had six grabs for 208 yards and two touchdowns in that loss.
On the ground, Cabrillo’s rushing attack will be led by Armon Lumpkin, who had over 100 total yards against Sonora and will also be key in the passing game. Despite outscoring South East 31-6 in Week 1, the Pilots surrendered 176 rushing yards and gave up their lone touchdown on the ground.
Defensively, Cabrillo will have to deal with quarterback Noa Tuvalu, who is already averaging over 280 passing yards per game and has four passing touchdowns to start the season. Isaac Flores is Banning’s leading rusher, averaging 90 yards per game with four total touchdowns, while sophomore receiver Pharrell Daniels is averaging 127 receiving yards per game with two touchdowns.
According to MaxPreps, Cabrillo is ranked No. 1,003 in the state, while Banning sits at No. 317.
