After winning back-to-back games to start the season, the Valencia Vikings hosted Bishop Amat in hopes for their third win a row.
Instead, Bishop Amat defeated Valencia, 42-38, in a late-game thriller.
“All the credit in the world to Bishop Amat. They wanted that really bad, and they played hard, and they played well all night long,” Valencia head coach Larry Muir said. “And they kept responding back. We were able to kind of get things on them, and we were making collectively some random plays on them, but they kept fighting and fighting and that’s what happens. They did a really good job of playing for four quarters.”
The Vikings (2-1) began the game right where they left off last week in the win over Chaminade.
Quarterback Brady Bretthauer drove the offense down the field and running back Brian Bonner, who’s fresh off rushing for over 100 yards last week, kicked off the scoring for the Vikings.
On third down and four, Bonner punched the ball into the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown and Valencia took an early 7-0 lead over Bishop Amat (2-1).
But Bishop Amat didn’t trail for long.
On the following drive, Bishop Amat’s running back, Ryan Salcedo, tied the game at 7 apiece with an 8-yard rushing touchdown.
Valencia’s offense returned to the field, but back-to-back incomplete passes stalled the drive and forced the Vikings to punt the ball.
With possession on their own 18-yard line, Bishop Amat’s offense drove the field but before the Lancers could enter Valencia’s territory, the team fumbled, and Elias Holloway recovered the ball to give the Vikings possession on the 50-yard line.
With 2 minutes left to go in the half, Bretthauer linked with tight end Caleb Larson to extend Valencia’s lead over Bishop Amat, 14-7.
Bishop Amat punted after a three-and-out and instead of running down the clock to halftime, Bretthauer had other plans.
On third down, Bretthauer connected with Bonner for an 85-yard touchdown and extend their lead, 21-7.
With 27 seconds left to go in the half, Valencia kicked off to the Lancers. Salcedo brought the ball back to the house on the kickoff return for a touchdown and cut into Valencia’s lead before halftime.
And on the first drive for Bishop Amat following halftime, Salcedo scored again, a 48-yard touchdown, and tied the game at 21 apiece.
After allowing 14 unanswered points on defense, Valencia’s offense didn’t look beat.
On fourth and goal, with Valencia just 5 yards away from the end zone, Bretthauer scrambled out of the pocket for a touchdown.
But before the Vikings could enjoy their 28-21 lead, Salcedo scored gain for the Lancers after back-to-back big rushes put Bishop Amat’s offense within 2 yards of the end zone.
Salcedo punched the ball in for a rushing touchdown and tied the game again at 28 apiece going into the fourth quarter.
With 8 minutes left in the game and possession on the Lancers’ 40-yard line, Valencia chose to kick the field goal and brought in Matteo Petroski for the job.
Petroski kicked the 52-yard attempt right through the posts and Valencia took the lead back, leading 31-28 over Bishop Amat.
On the following drive, the Vikings picked off Lancers quarterback Brayden Wann and gave Valencia great field position. But the Vikings weren’t able to do anything with the opportunity and opted to punt.
But before Petroski got the ball, the Lancers blocked the punt and Bishop Amat had the ball on the Vikings’ 3-yard line. On the following play, Salcedo punched the ball in, and Bishop Amat took a 35-31 lead.
With less than two minutes to go in the game, Valencia’s offense scored again, Bretthauer connecting with Anthony Vernon, and the Vikings took the lead.
But Salcedo’s name got called again as he broke off for a 79-yard touchdown and sealed the fate for Valencia.
After the game Muir kept his message to the team in the huddle short but stated it doesn’t matter who is on the opposing sideline: Valencia needs to play better and have a standard to uphold for themselves.
“As much as [Bishop Amat] are terrific, and they’re awesome. They do a great job there. However, it’s all about us and what we do and how we do it,” Muir said. “And we didn’t do it at the standard that we kind of set for ourselves. We set a certain standard, and we didn’t play to that standard.”
Muir and the Vikings play again next week on the road at Paraclete.
