Self-inflicted wounds piled on the Valencia Vikings in their home opener on Friday.
Penalties and turnovers cost the team a chance at victory over the visiting Santa Barbara Dons, and put the Vikings at 0-2 for the first time since 2015.
The Dons won the game 47-23 as the team capitalized on four Vikings turnovers and nearly a dozen penalties.
Valencia (0-2) led 10-0 before Santa Barbara (2-0) went on a scoring frenzy.
An early Valencia penalty erased a Dons’ field goal, and gave Santa Barbara new life. The Dons scored on the very next play with a 10-yard rushing TD from Monty Lopez.
“We obviously did not play well at all,” said Valencia coach Larry Muir. “All the credit in the world to Santa Barbara. Our guys just didn’t play well. And that starts and stops with me. We made a lot of mistakes, and they played with a lot of passion, and they played tough.”
Dons running back Bode Fauskee led Santa Barbara with over 100 all-purpose yards and a pair of TDs.
Vikings quarterback Brady Bretthauer turned over the ball four times with two fumbles and a pair of interceptions that were both tipped.
It was an uncharacteristic night for the quarterback, who still racked up over 300 all-purpose yards. Muir knows Bretthauer will be back to form soon and hopes the same for his offense.
“It doesn’t really matter what you’re doing, if you can’t block or tackle, you’re going to struggle. They did a better job in that area.”
Santa Barbara answered with a score on nearly every turnover and quickly turned the game around in the second half.
Valencia running back Brian Bonner was a bright spot per usual, as the junior totaled 162 yards on the ground and found the end zone twice.
Bonner punched in the game’s first touchdown with an 11-yard score. The running back nearly added another one on Valencia’s next drive but was chased down for a 56-yard gain. Bretthauer finished off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown.
Vikings freshman receiver Matthew Steen also had a strong outing with five catches for 104 yards.
Penalties piled up for Valencia in the first half, leading to more Dons’ touchdowns.
Neither team could find a score through the air until Dons quarterback Laird Finkel had two TD strikes late in the game. Finkel threw a 40-yard touchdown before doubling the mark on his final highlight play of the night, an 80-yard touchdown strike to officially put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter.
Finkel finished the game with over 300 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.
Valencia is now on the clock with a short week ahead along with another tough opponent in Murrieta Mesa.
“We’ve got to flip this quick and learn from it,” Muir said. “We’ve got to get back to work and change our approach. That starts with me but we’ll figure it out.”
Valencia heads down to Murrieta on Thursday to take on the Rams at 7 p.m. Santa Barbara returns home to host Dos Pueblos on Friday at 7 p.m.
