Going into Friday’s contest with Saugus, Valencia held a 14-game Foothill League winning streak that dates back to 2022.
By the final whistle, the Vikings stomped the Centurions at home, 55-14, and extended the winning streak to 15 along with securing their fifth win of the season.
“I thought they did a job of kind of starting a tempo early, and I was really, really proud of the start of the second half,” Valencia head coach Larry Muir said. “It was just we’ve been kind of struggling in the third quarter a couple of games, but our guys did a really great job of really kind of clamping down there in the third quarter that I was really proud.”
Valencia (5-1, 2-0) quarterback Brady Bretthauer threw for 193 yards and four touchdowns, along with two six-point plays on the scramble.
After the game, Bretthauer stated that Friday night was a statement game for him where he wanted to give the rest of the Foothill League a wakeup call.
“For me, there is a lot of doubt about my ability coming into the game just because of my performance last week,” Bretthauer said. “I think this week was a really big statement game for me, just kind of a wakeup call that I can do it, and I can get the job done.”
Bretthauer ran all over the Saugus (4-2, 0-2) run defense to start off the game, quite literally.
Bretthauer had two separate 20-plus-yard scrambles in Valencia’s first drive of the game, including a 28-yard rushing touchdown that kicked off the scoring for the Vikings, who led 7-0 in the opening quarter.
On the following drive, Saugus quarterback Jake Nuttall drove the Centurions’ offense all the way into the Vikings’ red zone after a 23-yard pass to Degan Grant to set them up at the 14-yard line.
But Saugus was unable to capitalize on the opportunity as the team elected to bring the special teams unit out for the field goal, but the kick went wide left.
Following a punt from Valencia, the Centurions’ offense returned to the field. But before the offense could drive down the field, Valencia defender Carson De Leon picked off Nuttall and gave Valencia offense possession at the Centurion 45-yard line.
With one minute left to go in the first quarter, Bretthauer connected with Anthony Vernon for a 48-yard touchdown pass and extended their lead, 14-0.
In the opening minutes of the second quarter, Bretthauer threw his second touchdown pass of the game to Nico Funez for 38 yards.
After the game, Funez spoke about his relationship with his quarterback and that both playing together was a long time coming.
“I’ve known Brady since I was,12, so me and him always connected, but we didn’t start playing until I came here,” Funez said. “So the fact that I get to be able to play with a guy like that is just really special and to me, you know, because you want to be around a guy like that, he just works hard and he’s just a great person to be around.”
With five minutes left to go in the first half, Bretthauer connected with Funez again for a 37-yard reception for their second six-point scoring play together.
And on the following offensive drive for the Vikings, Bretthauer threw his fourth touchdown pass in the first half to Hudson Sanders as Valencia extended its lead over Saugus, 35-0.
With less than a minute left in the half, Saugus receiver Matt Long showed off his baseball expertise as the senior threw a 32-yard pass to Degen Grant as the Centurions set up their offense within the Vikings’ red zone.
A few plays later, Nuttall found Landon Lattimore in the end zone for a 2-yard TD reception with one second left on the clock as the Centurions cut into Valencia lead going into halftime.
In the second half, Valencia extended its lead over Saugus, 42-7, following a 48-yard touchdown run from Brian Bonner.
“I was proud tonight of Brian Bonner,” Muir said. “I thought Brian did a great job in pass protection. I thought he did a lot of really, really good kind of under-the-radar things, the little things that are going to show what a great football player he is.”
In the end, Valencia closed out the game with another Bretthauer rushing touchdown and Vernon ripping out the ball out of a Saugus player’s hand to return the ball for a six-point play.
The win marks the Vikings’ third 40-plus point victory, and 15th league game in a row, a feat that Bretthauer believes is simply the standard at Valencia.
“The standard is the standard,” Bretthauer said. “We came in, we took over a program that has had a history of winning before us and it’s our job to keep that going. And so being undefeated in the league this far feels good, but we still have a long way to go.”
Valencia has a bye next week, while Saugus will look to earn its first league win of the year on the road at Canyon.
