Second-half collapse sends Valencia to 0-4  

Valencia High School Viking Brian Bonner (34) is tackled down by Rancho Cucamonga High School Beckam Amare (28) during Friday night’s home game. 091324 Katherine Quezada/The Signal
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Valencia Vikings football ended its non-league schedule without a win for the first time under head coach Larry Muir on Friday.  

The Vikings were dropped, 48-14, in their home game with the Rancho Cucamonga Cougars. 

Valencia nearly went into halftime knotted up at 14-14 but gave up a touchdown with under a minute to go in the second quarter.  

The score sparked an onslaught of 34 unanswered points, dropping the Vikings to 0-4. 

“The kids played pretty well in the first half,” Muir said in a phone interview. “I thought we were matching up pretty well, playing physical and executing well. They just got away from us in the second half. The story of our season so far is we’ve made a couple mistakes, but our couple mistakes turned into big plays for the other team, and we’re just not there yet to overcome those things.” 

Rancho’s offense feasted with over 200 passing yards and three touchdowns from quarterback Jacob Chambers on just seven completions. Cougars receiver Tyree Wilson pulled in two of the scores, finishing the game with just the two TD catches for 96 yards.  

Rancho Cucamonga High School’s Keyonn Chatman (4) dashes through numerous players during Friday night’s game versus Valencia High School. 091324 Katherine Quezada/The Signal

Chambers also added nearly 100 yards on the ground, extending numerous Rancho Cucamonga drives. Cougars running back Keyonn Chatman exploded in the ground game with 108 yards and one touchdown on just nine touches. 

Valencia turned the ball over twice with a fumble lost and an interception. The Vikings’ run game was stuffed as junior Brian Bonner fought for every one of his 85 yards on 21 carries.  

Bonner and signal caller Brady Bretthauer each added a rushing score for Valencia. 

Valencia High School Viking Brady Bretthauer (12), launches the ball before he’s tackled by Rancho Cucamonga’s Kal-el Togafau (5) during Friday’s night game at Valencia High School. 091324 Katherine Quezada/The Signal

The Vikings had some shots to come back but couldn’t catch a break and execute. 

“That was what really hurt us,” Muir said. “I think we had some opportunities but we just didn’t execute and take advantage of it.” 

Muir knows his team played one of the tougher non-league schedules but knows nothing will come of it if the Vikings don’t put in the work to improve. 

“I think the hope for every coach is that non-league sets you in a good position for the league,” Muir said. “You want some success in there, but at the same time, it reveals a lot of who we are, what we’ve had to work on and a lot of areas we’ve got to grow in. So if we can translate that into growth, we’ll get better, but just because we played a tough schedule doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re gonna change things and make things better. We have to do things to improve.” 

Valencia is gearing up to bounce back against Saugus, another team looking to return to form after a less-than-ideal non-league campaign. 

The Vikings and Centurions kick off at College of the Canyons on Friday at 7 p.m. 

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