Camarillo opens Coastal 101 League play Friday, Oct. 2, when the Scorpions host the Oxnard Yellowjackets at 7 p.m. at James Ackerman Stadium for Homecoming.
The Scorpions (3-2) carry a two-game winning streak into the league opener after rattling off victories over Ventura and Rio Mesa to close nonleague play. Oxnard (2-3) arrives on a one-game skid following a 29-7 loss at Rio Mesa on Sept. 25, according to MaxPreps.
Neither team has played a league game yet. The Coastal 101 is a new six-team league this season that groups Camarillo, Oxnard, Calabasas, Agoura, Oak Park and Buena, according to the Camarillo football program guide.
Senior quarterback Brad Barlow has been the engine of Camarillo's turnaround from a 2-8 season in 2025. In a 34-19 win over Ventura on Sept. 11, Barlow threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns, the Ventura County Star reported. A week later he accounted for all four of Camarillo's offensive scores in a 35-28 Black and Blue Bowl victory at Rio Mesa. Barlow found receiver Jack Owens on a 4-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter of that game, and defensive back Caden Clem added a scoop-and-score fumble recovery to push the lead to 35-21, according to the Star's live coverage.
Rio Mesa scored late to make it 35-28, but Camarillo held on.
Camarillo owns a 31-19 advantage in the all-time series against Oxnard, per the program guide. The Scorpions shut out the Yellowjackets 49-0 in their last meeting on Sept. 26, 2025, extending a nine-game winning streak in the rivalry.
Fourth-year head coach Nate Anderson, a 2010 Camarillo alumnus, wrote in the program guide that the new league schedule would test his team alongside a demanding nonleague slate.
"We cannot promise that every bounce will go our way or that every challenge will be easy," Anderson wrote. "What we can promise is that no opponent will outwork us, no moment will be too big for us, and no player will ever quit."
The program guide lists six returning offensive starters and three on defense. Returning defensive starters Jack Norton, Carter McPeters and Sam Knight anchor that side of the ball, while Barlow, Owens, Jacob Garcia and Johnny Diaz lead the offensive skill group.
Oxnard's two wins this season came against Hueneme (28-26 on Sept. 4) and Del Sol (30-28 in double overtime on Sept. 11), according to MaxPreps. The Yellowjackets were blown out 61-7 at Ventura on Aug. 28 and fell 42-27 to Mission College Prep in their opener.
Kickoff is 7 p.m. Friday. After Homecoming, Camarillo travels to Calabasas on Friday, Oct. 9, then hosts Agoura on Friday, Oct. 16.
