JURUPA VALLEY — Nathan Villanueva and Isaac Galiza have been playing football together since they were small children.

So chemistry was never an issue when the time came for them to once again line up next to one another on the football field.

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Leading the way for the Patriot High Warriors are senior quarterback/linebacker Nathan Villanueva, left, and senior running back/linebacker Isaac Galiza in Jurupa Valley on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

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Villanueva and Galiza have been a dynamic duo for the Patriot football team this season. Villanueva is the quarterback in the team’s option-based offense and has rushed for 956 yards and nine touchdowns, and Galiza is a standout running back who leads the ground attack for the Warriors with 1,035 yards and 14 touchdowns. These two seniors also are starting linebackers on the other side of the ball. Villanueva currently leads the team with 69 tackles, while Galiza ranks second with 61 tackles.

Patriot enters Friday night’s River Valley League game at Rubidoux with an overall record of 6-1, including back-to-back wins over Ramona and Norte Vista. The Warriors are two wins away from matching the best total in the program’s 19-year history.

“Here at Patriot, we might not get the premier athletes or top recruits other programs get, but what we do have here is a great group of kids that work hard every day and play for each other,” Warriors coach Chris Fowler said. “Nate and Isaac are two of the many examples of that on our team this season. They have bought into what we believe in and have been preaching over the years. They buy into that brotherhood out there on the field and sticking together and playing for that person next to you.”

Villanueva and Galiza shared the backfield when they were on the freshman team, but then they forged different paths when they were moved up to the varsity team as sophomores. Villanueva was a backup to starting quarterback Isaiah Miramontes, but he made his mark on defense and finished second on the squad with 80 tackles. Galiza also snagged a starting spot on the defense and registered 82 tackles. Villanueva took the offensive reins the following season after Miramontes graduated.

Josiah Felix had been Patriot’s workhorse running back for three seasons. Who would be Felix’s successor was one of the biggest question marks heading into the 2025 season. Fowler thought running back by committee might be the wisest move.

“Well, Isaac had a little something to say about that,” Fowler said with a laugh. “He was already a star in his own way. He’s a great wrestler and had been starting on our defense for two years. He stepped up and said ‘I’m going to take on another role, too, and do a phenomenal job with it.’ That’s just who he is. He’s not flashy. but we know he’s going to get those tough yards.”

Villanueva said he and Galiza immediately clicked in the backfield.

“We already have that strong bond together, so we were able to get on the same page right from the start,” Villanueva said.

Added Galiza: “It’s been great being a dynamic duo again. We are out there doing whatever is needed to help the team win.”

Villanueva credited the guys up front — senior linemen Joseph Sanchez, Jason Avalos, Dominic Gonzalez, Andrew Chavez and Evan Thompson and junior tight end Izaiah Fregoso — for the success he and Galiza have had throughout the season.

“Shout out to them and everything they do,” Villanueva said. “They protect us and put us in position to gain all of those yards.”

Patriot’s football program has captured only one league championship, and that came in 2017 when the River Valley League ended in an unprecedented five-way tie for first place. The Warriors already have cleared their two biggest hurdles this year. Ramona won the league title last year, and last week’s victory over Norte Vista was the program’s first since the 2008 season.

“I’m just happy for these kids, and not just the ones on this year’s team,” Fowler said. “Isaiah Miramontes was on the sidelines for that Norte Vista game, and he almost was in tears when we won. That was a hump we’ve been trying to get over for years, and that win was a validation for everything that we’ve been preaching over the years. We got two big wins, but the job is not done yet. The battle cry we have for the next three weeks is to finish and make sure we have that league title all to ourselves.”

Galiza and Villanueva are prepared to do whatever it takes to make that happen.

“To win a league title my senior year would be a dream come true,” Galiza said. “Ramona and Norte Vista have been the top dogs for a while now, but we’ve changed that this season. We’re going to keep working hard to make sure this doesn’t slip away.”


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