In short: Waterford Wildcats high school football (Waterford, CA), 2026 season: 3-5. Last game: W 14-6 vs Delhi on October 23, 2026. Next: at Mariposa County, October 30, 2026. Schedule and results, player season stats, stat leaders, unit grades, ScorePirate ranking and the game-by-game log.
The turnover battle could decide Waterford's next game, against Mariposa County, and the recent returns favor Waterford. Waterford committed 2.8 giveaways per game over its first 4 games (1-3), #141 in Section in that timeframe. In the 4 games since that slow start (2-2), the Wildcats have committed 1.0 giveaways per game, a 64% drop, #50 in Section in that window. The schedule deserves some of the credit: Waterford's last 4 opponents have averaged 0.9 per game, a #117 defense in Section on the season, against 1.6 per game, #57 for the first 4. Measured against those opponents' norms (0.9 per game), Waterford turned it over 14% more than those defenses usually force. So the improvement is real, but it still trails what those opponents usually give up. Overall, though, those opponents have been lower-level teams: their average SP Strength Index rating would rank just #118 in Section. Meanwhile, Mariposa County's defense has been middle of the pack in recent weeks. The Grizzlies have forced 1.0 takeaways per game over their last 4 games (3-1), #87 in Section during that time. Those games came against a middle-of-the-pack set of offenses in Section (1.3 per game on the season, which would rank #84). Against those norms, Mariposa County forced 24% fewer turnovers than those offenses usually give up. Overall, those opponents average an SP Strength Index rating that would rank #113 in Section, a lower level of competition. Mariposa County offers Waterford a fair measuring stick for whether the trend is real.
The number to watch when Waterford meets Mariposa County is Waterford's scoring defense. Waterford allowed 43.8 points per game over its first 5 games (1-4), #145 in Section through those games. Over the stretch of 3 games that followed (2-1), the Wildcats have allowed 23.3 points per game, a 47% drop, #59 in Section through that stretch. The schedule deserves some of the credit: Waterford's last 3 opponents have averaged 15.8 points per game, a #125 offense in Section on the season, against 24.3 points per game, #84 for the first 5. Measured against those opponents' norms (15.8 points per game), Waterford allowed 48% more than those offenses usually score. So the improvement is real, but it still trails what those opponents usually give up. Overall, though, those opponents have been lower-level teams: their average SP Strength Index rating would rank just #123 in Section. Only Stone Ridge Christian broke through in that span, putting up 44 on 10/9. Meanwhile, Mariposa County's offense has been middle of the pack in recent weeks. The Grizzlies have averaged 23.0 points per game over their last 3 games (2-1), #90 in Section over that stretch. Those games came against a middle-of-the-pack set of scoring defenses in Section (21.9 points per game on the season, which would rank #56). Overall, those opponents average an SP Strength Index rating that would rank #108 in Section, a lower level of competition. Mariposa County offers Waterford a fair measuring stick for whether the trend is real. Waterford is 2-1 this season when it holds opponents under 35, and 1-4 when it doesn't.
NOTES
The biggest shift in Waterford's season has come in its passing game. Waterford averaged 5.3 yards per pass attempt (582 yards on 110 attempts) over its first 4 games (1-3), #121 in Section within that period. In the 4 games since that slow start (2-2), the Wildcats have averaged 8.3 yards per pass attempt (888 yards on 107 attempts), a 57% rise, #72 in Section across those games. The schedule deserves some of the credit: Waterford's last 4 opponents have averaged 10.1 yards per attempt, a #125 pass defense in Section on the season, against 7.7 yards per attempt, #60 for the first 4. Measured against those opponents' norms (10.1 yards per attempt), Waterford threw for 18% less per attempt than those pass defenses usually allow. So the improvement is real, but it still trails what those opponents usually give up. Overall, though, those opponents have been lower-level teams: their average SP Strength Index rating would rank just #118 in Section. On the season, Waterford ranks #99 in Section in passing. That form gets a real test against Mariposa County, whose pass defense ranks #7 in Section (5.5 yards per attempt).
The Wildcats averaged 4.8 yards per play (1,144 yards on 240 snaps) over their first 4 games (1-3), #125 in Section during those games. Few teams started slower in this department, and few have turned it around as sharply since. In the 4 games since that slow start (2-2), Waterford has averaged 6.3 yards per play (1,301 yards on 206 snaps), a 32% rise, #90 in Section during that period. The schedule deserves some of the credit: Waterford's last 4 opponents have averaged 7.3 yards per play, a #86 defense in Section on the season, against 6.7 yards per play, #65 for the first 4. Measured against those opponents' norms (7.3 yards per play), Waterford gained 13% less per snap than those defenses usually allow. So the improvement is real, but it still trails what those opponents usually give up. Overall, though, those opponents have been lower-level teams: their average SP Strength Index rating would rank just #118 in Section. On the season, the Wildcats rank #119 in Section in yards per play. That form gets a real test against Mariposa County, whose defense ranks #10 in Section (5.0 yards per play).
Waterford's ground game has come a long way since the season's early weeks. Waterford averaged 3.8 yards per carry (377 yards on 99 rushes) over its first 3 games (1-2), #120 in Section during that stretch. In the 5 games since that slow start (2-3), the Wildcats have averaged 4.6 yards per carry (598 yards on 130 rushes), a 21% rise, #112 in Section over that period. The schedule has a lot to do with it: Waterford's last 5 opponents have averaged 5.6 yards per carry, a #53 run defense in Section on the season, against 6.5 yards per carry, #87 for the first 3. Measured against those opponents' norms (5.6 yards per carry), Waterford ran for 18% less per carry than those run defenses usually allow. So the improvement is real, but it still trails what those opponents usually give up. Overall, though, those opponents have been lower-level teams: their average SP Strength Index rating would rank just #122 in Section. On the season, Waterford ranks #123 in Section in rushing. That form gets a real test against Mariposa County, whose run defense ranks #37 in Section (4.9 yards per carry).
TIDBITS (6 found)
• Club Waterford has won 2 straight, and a win would make it 3 in a row. The last time they won 3 or more in a row was 2025, a run of 3.
• Player Apevat Komthongpane has 268 receiving yards over his last 3 games (89.3 a game, October 2, 2026 through October 16, 2026) -- his most in a 3-game stretch on record.
• Player Mason Munoz has 33 tackles over his last 4 games (8.2 a game, September 25, 2026 through October 16, 2026) -- his most in a 4-game stretch on record.
• Player Ruben Pastran has gone 3 straight games throwing a touchdown pass, the longest such streak of his career.
• Player Apevat Komthongpane has gone 3 straight games catching a touchdown pass, the longest such streak of his career.
• Player Damien Tellez has gone 7 straight games without throwing a touchdown pass. The last time he threw a touchdown pass was October 31, 2025 against Denair (L, 34-59) — 4 TD pass.
MILESTONE WATCH
Waterford
Ruben Pastran needs 154 passing yards for 1,500 (averaging 192.3 a game)
Max Camacho needs 7 tackles for 50 (averaging 6.1 a game)
Win chances are the site's own game projections where one is on file, otherwise the SP Strength Index gap with a small home edge. The realistic range covers 80% of outcomes (10th to 90th percentile).
Every player with a stat on file, listed only where he has one. Open the arrow beside a name for his game-by-game line. Stats through the Oct 16 game; last updated Oct 22; roster and numbers checked Sep 7.
Click a column heading to sort. MIN hides players below that many attempts.
PPG/OPP PPG use every played game on file. YPG/PLAYS-PER-GAME columns only ever come from games with a full box score on file, which can be a smaller sample than GP -- see the coverage note below when that's the case for this team.
Averages use only games with that number on file (defense 6/8, sacks/INT 7/8, sacks allowed 6/8 games). SACKS ALW comes from the opponent's box score; TO FORCED is takeaways; TO MAR is takeaways minus giveaways, and its bottom cell is the season total. Dashes mean not on file.
UNIT INDEX
Pass Offense: grade 49.6/100 (-15 yds/gm vs average)
Rush Offense: grade 27.7/100 (-61 yds/gm vs average)
Pass Defense: grade 12.5/100 (+63 yds/gm vs average)
Rush Defense: grade 36.5/100 (+24 yds/gm vs average)
Unit grades: 0-100 league percentile, adjusted for the opponents faced.
WAT finished 2025 at 6-5. Made the playoffs (1 postseason game(s) on file; exact round/result not available). Notable win: 31-6 over BEYER (BEYER finished 36% that season). Toughest loss: 20-23 to EL CAPITAN (3-point margin).
"N/A" stands in for a box score that does not have stats entered. A total followed by a count in parentheses covers only the games with that stat on file.
TALKING POINTS (15 storylines)
WAT HAS PERFORMED BEST THIS DATA SET WHEN...
• WAT commits zero giveaways (.857), and has won 6 straight when doing so
WAT's defense has averaged 1.7 takeaways per game over their last 3 games. Their 17-game average is 0.8 takeaways per game. (+102%)
WAT's defense has averaged 278.0 pass yards per game over their last 3 games. Their 14-game average is 181.9 pass yards per game. (+53%)
WAT's defense has averaged 103.0 rush yards per game over their last 3 games. Their 14-game average is 205.1 rush yards per game. (-50%)
WAT's defense has averaged 37.6 points allowed per game over their last 10 games. Their 30-game average is 28.0 points allowed per game. (+34%)
WAT's defense has averaged 4.6 YPC over their last 5 games. Their 14-game average is 6.5 YPC. (-29%)
(moved to the Appendix, Data Export 1, to keep this section shorter -- the full spreadsheet-paste table is there unchanged)
APPENDIX
Full-length explanations and full-size data exports for the shortened notes and relocated tables referenced throughout this report, numbered in the order their pointers appear above.
Explanatory Notes
Note 1 -- SEASON OUTLOOK
Every remaining game is projected from schedule-adjusted ratings; already-played games carry their real result. Records are simulated distributions, not a single guess -- MOST LIKELY FINAL is the single most probable record and its own probability, PROJECTED RECORD is the season's expected win total expressed in record form (an average across every simulated outcome, so it can land on a fraction of a game).
Note 2 -- OPPONENT TRACKER -- why some cards have no record shown
Only meaningful for an opponent who is ALSO a tracked team in the library -- an opponent with no games on file here at all shows the date and site alone.
Note 3 -- MOST IMPORTANT NUMBERS -- how a number is scored
Every split this report computes is scored on how strong the number is and how much it sets this team apart from its opponent and the rest of the field, and the top 5 per team are listed. A condition needs at least 8 occurrences to count.
Full Data Exports
Data Export 1 -- TRENDS — TAB-SEPARATED (10 columns)
Where WATERFORD sits among 148 section teams on the two Unit Index composites -- Offense Grade 49.3, Defense Grade 28.1.
TURNOVER MARGIN / GAME: WATERFORD VS THE SECTION
WATERFORD ranks #118 of 120 section teams in turnover margin per game (-3.00) -- a weakness worth a look.
WATERFORD: SP STRENGTH INDEX BY SEASON
The program's index across 5 seasons on file -- -6.0 in 2022 to -19.8 in 2026.
These graphs were chosen by the program from this season's most notable numbers. Build your own -- any stat against any other, for any mix of teams, seasons or players, with a JPEG download -- in the Graph Builder.
