The Vikings opened the 2025 season at home with a bang.
Valencia (1-0) defeated Simi Valley (0-1) 28-7 to record their first win of the season in an all-around team effort.
“The reality is this is our first game, first time getting out on the field and getting together as a group,” head coach Larry Muir said. “So, there’s that unknown of, like, coming out here and how you’re going to perform, and I thought so many guys did a really nice job of performing tonight.”
In the first quarter the Vikings didn’t waste any time on their opening drive. Quarterback Brady Bretthauer connected with receiver Elias Holloway for a 50-yard touchdown reception.
Holloway, who’s playing both on offense as a receiver and defense as a defensive back, was everywhere this game, including a key deflection on second and long that forced Simi Valley to punt the ball back two plays later.
In the closing minutes of the first quarter, Bretthauer threw an interception to Pioneers Micah Hannah, a ball intended for Anthony Vernon.
With the ball now in the hands of the Pioneers’ offense, the Valencia defense continued to create havoc for Simi Valley with two forced fumbles in the drive.
On that same drive and opening minutes of the second quarter, linebacker Rocco Testa came down with an interception to give his offense back the ball.
But even after the gift from Testa, the Valencia offense was unable to make anything of it, punting the ball back to Simi.
With eight minutes left to go in the second quarter, Holloway was forced on one-on-one man coverage with his receiver. The standout senior came down with an interception to give the ball back to his offense on the 30-yard line.
“I was just ready for what was coming my way,” Holloway said. “We were watching defensive screens, their weak points, knowing they run a lot of man. So, we had a lot we got to beat them in.”
On second and long with no one open, Bretthauer opted to scramble down the sideline for a 48-yard run.
Within 2 yards of the endzone, Bretthauer handed the ball off to Washington University commit, Brian Bonner, who punched in the ball for a touchdown and extend the Vikings’ lead to 13-0.
But the Vikings weren’t done.
With less than a minute left in the half, third down and with the ball on Simi’s 4-yard line, Bretthauer connected with Matthew Steen for the touchdown to apparently extend the lead to 21-0 — a play that the Vikings had to re-run after the officials threw a flag and brought it back.
“They called it back. We scored on it, And I just told coach, ‘Let’s do it again,’” Bretthauer said. “Ball don’t lie. We did it again.”
In the third quarter, Simi Valley came out of the gates firing.
Petrov threw a 47-yard pass to put the ball on Valencia’s 13. But the Vikings’ redzone defense wasn’t fazed.
On third and long, Valencia’s Caleb Larson sacked Petrov and made it fourth and 15. The Pioneers’ offense elected to play on fourth down and Petrov forced a pass to the endzone that winded up being an incompletion.
In the opening minutes of the fourth quarter in the Pioneers’ redzone, Brethauer scrambled up the middle for the touchdown to extend the Vikings’ lead over the Pioneers, 27-0.
With 7:51 left to go in the game, the Pioneers’ defense picked off freshman Evan McAlister after Bretthauer left the game. Simi Valley would wind up bringing the interception back for a pick-six to cut the deficit to 28-6.
Both teams would end up trading stalling drives to close out the game with backups on both teams getting playing time late in the fourth.
With the final seconds counting down and crowd roaring, Valencia walked off the field with a statement win over the Pioneers, a team performance that has left Muir excited for the rest of the season.
“That’s the nice thing about the first game, you’ve got so much to fix,” Muir said. “Hopefully we’re going to be more sharp next week and there’s a lot of things we’ve got to be better at. I feel very confident that they’ll get better. The question is, how much better do we get?”
The Vikings hit the road next week, matching up against Chaminade with kickoff at 7 p.m. Friday.
