Usually, Valencia’s Ben Seymour lines up on defense at the linebacker position. But on Friday against Hart, he found himself on offense in the crosshairs of a screen pass from quarterback Davis Cop.
It was an identical play to what the Vikings had attempted years ago, the only difference was that Jake Solley, a 2012 Valencia grad who died a week ago, was the intended receiver. Solley made the catch, but he was one yard short of a touchdown.
Six years later, Seymour took the field at the same position and in the same jersey number and against the same opponent as Solley. He caught a 25-yard pass to score the touchdown that Solley wasn’t able to.
“We ran that play for him and I ended up scoring, so that was pretty awesome,” Seymour said. “He was in the Marines and he was a big part of Valencia football. He had a huge impact.”
Seymour scored two touchdowns in the Vikings’ 34-7 win over the Indians at Valencia.
Jake Santos was the first to get the Vikes (4-3 overall, 2-0 in Foothill League) on the scoreboard, however, as Cop pitched it to him for a 14-yard run at the 9:14 mark in the first quarter.
Jayvaun Wilson, who was playing in his first game of the season after recovering from a knee injury, executed the 2-point conversion.
Hart (3-4, 0-2) wasn’t able to gain a single yard of offense on the ensuing drive and were forced to punt at the 13-yard line. Seymour lunged, blocked the punt and returned it for a touchdown to make it 15-0.
Seymour picked up his second touchdown at the 8:19 mark as the Vikings charged ahead to 21-0 with a PAT from Ty Morrison.
Hart wasn’t able to get anything going until 2:31 remained in the first quarter when Zach Johnson connected with Drew Munoz on an 11-yard pass.
“That was just disastrous first three minutes for us and then so we didn’t tell them anything,” said Hart coach Mike Herrington. “We just expect them to come out and play and they played well for the next quarter and a half.”
Valencia fumbled on the following kickoff, giving the ball back to the Indians immediately. Hart was unable to capitalize, however, and after a scoreless second quarter, Valencia headed into halftime with a 21-7 lead.
Morrison executed a field goal with 9:11 left in the third quarter, which would be the only points of the stanza.
Santos opened up the fourth quarter with a 64-yard touchdown run to make the score 31-7, then a 12-yard drive from Valencia paved the way for a Luke
Fowble field goal with 4:19 left on the board.
Wilson was handed the ball six times on the drive, the most action he’d seen all game.
“It’s great to see him back because he’s just a huge playmaker for us,” Seymour said of Wilson. “He’s just a huge energy for us. He pumps up the team, always makes big plays. It’s awesome to watch him play.”
