HS FOOT: Saugus, Thousand Oaks on the run

ON THE RUN

Two of the area's top running backs go head to head Friday when Saugus, led by Ryan Zirbel, takes on visiting Thousand Oaks, led by John Lister, in a Northern quarterfinal at College of the Canyons.

Zirbel has rushed for 1,594 yards and scored 24 touchdowns, and Lister has rushed for 2,127 yards and scored 28 touchdowns.

Zirbel left with nine minutes remaining Friday because of a sprained ankle after rushing for 205 yards and scoring two touchdowns in a 29-17 victory over Righetti of Santa Maria. He'll be fine, Saugus coach Jason Bornn said.

"Ryan will be ready to go. When you're a high-performance machine, you recover a lot faster," Bornn said. "He's built for speed."

Lister is coming off the game of his life, rushing for 325 yards on 39 carries and scoring five touchdowns in a 49-28 victory over Santa Barbara.

"Thousand Oaks has a Mack truck at tailback, and they're athletic across the board," Bornn said. "It's going to be a fun game and a great way to spend the Friday after Thanksgiving."

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com