By Justin Vigil-Zuniga
For The Signal
Valencia had no problem shutting out the Canyon Cowboys in their Friday night Foothill league matchup.
The Vikings would enter their homecoming game without injured, starting quarterback Tyler Voss. However, junior Trey Erickson showed the team is in good hands next season as the backup quarterback was at the helm for the blowout.
Erickson had hardly any mishaps on his way to a near-perfect performance with three touchdown passes.
“We all clicked,” said Erickson, “We all worked as a team this week. We had a good game.”
The junior got the first score of the game, finding wide receiver Zamondre Merriweather for a 5-yard touchdown reception on a crossing route.
The Vikings running back committee could not be stopped as Daniel Hernandez and Giorgio Spiropoulos hit one big run after another all night.
“This game showed we’re still kicking,” Spiropoulos said. “We’re contending for league.”
The duo finished with a rushing touchdown each.
Vikings wide-out Dylan Kelly would find the end zone twice for Valencia. The junior would also set up Hernandez for his 1-yard score after Kelly broke free for a 60-yard reception.
Canyon failed to earn a first down in the first quarter for their second game in a row. Running back Corbett McDaniel would eventually get going, consistently making multiple Vikings defenders miss on his carries. But it would not be enough to get the Cowboys in the end zone.
McDaniel, the focal point of the Canyon offense, is still without a touchdown this season.
The Cowboys passing game was nearly non-existent. Canyon quarterback Landon Naasz couldn’t get it anything going through the air and threw two picks.
Valencia safety Aj Townsend secured one of the picks late in the game, putting Valencia deep in Canyon territory. Although the second string would settle for the field goal, Canyon would fumble on their next offensive snap and Vikings linebacker Nick Acosta would not hesitate on the scoop and score to go up 52 points.
Both teams entered Friday night’s matchup on league losing streaks dating back to past seasons. Valencia dropped its last two while Canyon has now lost 18 in a row.
Valencia head coach Larry Muir can now aim back at his winning ways with the win. Before dropping his last two Foothill League outings, Muir was on a 46-league-game win streak snapped last season by Saugus.
Canyon will now look for a win in their next matchup with undefeated West Ranch (2-0). On the other side with huge momentum, Valencia will face Hart (0-2) which has also yet to win a league matchup.
“We just got to work on the little things,” said Spiropoulos. “No matter what, we gotta keep the foot on the gas.”
Both games kick off Friday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m.
