By Ryan Menzie
Signal Sports Writer
The Valencia Vikings’ (6-4) dramatic season is in the home stretch as they are now two wins away from being crowned CIF champions.
The lone remaining playoff representative of the Santa Clarita Valley came into the Division 5 Southern Section Championship with a road game playoff opener and has since had two home games in a row, including a matchup Friday against the Chino Hills Huskies (8-5).
Both teams are ranked in the state’s top 100, but the Vikings rank 10 spots ahead of the Huskies at 77 and look to keep their playoff streak alive despite being down their starting quarterback Tyler Voss for the entirety of the postseason. The Vikings’ all-around team and game plan management behind head coach Larry Muir have helped fuel their postseason run.
“It’s been a good week of practice. We keep pushing to get better and it’s going to be a big challenge this week,” said Muir. “Offensively they’re a very balanced team with a solid passing game and a terrific running game. We’re excited to be in the position that we’re in now. Every week is such a privilege and to be able to keep doing this is exciting for us. The boys have done a great job every week.”
The Vikings are coming off a 24-6 victory against La Habra, fueled by three total touchdowns from quarterback Trey Erickson, despite La Habra pulling off an upset against No. 1 seed Tustin the previous week. The Huskies are coming off a close 15-8 victory against Summit on the road and look to repeat back-to-back road wins to reach the finals.
The Vikings and Huskies are scheduled to play 7 p.m. Friday at Valencia.
