A few weeks ago, Valencia football alumni from the 2009 graduating class came to talk to the current Vikings football team. Alumni visits aren’t out of the ordinary, but the class of 2008 is a little special.
The 2008 class began “the peat” as the Vikings call it – the Foothill League title winning streak that has been repeated and three-peated and so on. Tomorrow, that streak could become a 10-peat.
“A lot of people care about his program and this is a big thing for everybody around this town and that we just need to keep working hard,” Cade Erickson said of the message the alumni delivered.
The only thing standing in the way of that title is West Ranch.
The Wildcats have had a historic season of their own, going unbeaten throughout the first seven games of the season. They’ve been able to do so primarily because of running back Ryan Camacho.
Camacho leads the team in rushing yards with 1,578 and rushing touchdowns with 24. In last week’s loss to Hart, Camacho picked up 282 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries.
“Off the run … see what he’s doing and play smash football,” said Valencia linebacker JimE DeYoung.
While West Ranch can score on the run, their defense can stop opponents’ run games, too. The Cats limited primary running back Taden Littleford to just 65 yards last week, although Littleford did succeed in scoring two touchdowns.
“I think we’re going to stick to our regular game plan,” Erickson said. “We come out and adapt to what goes on. If the pass is working, we stay there, if the run, we just like to mix it up a lot and keep it pretty basic.”
Valencia’s run game is on its way to reaching its full potential after returning Jayvaun Wilson to the lineup on Oct. 5.
In three league games, Wilson has amassed rushing 258 yards, ranking him fourth on the team in the category. Jake Santos leads the running backs with 418 yards, followed by Luring Paialii at 287 and Nick Pham at 278. Paialii leads in rushing touchdowns with nine.
“Our run defense is pretty good, so just game plan that and we think we can go out there and, we’ve been able to stop the run all year, so we think we can go out and do that,” said West Ranch linebacker Bryce Buchanan.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Valencia.
