Football Recap: Moreno Valley Comes Up Short

It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Moreno Valley can now relate to. They took a 27-21 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Hesperia Scorpions on Friday. The Vikings gained 114 more yards on the day, but it was the Scorpions that made the best use of them.

Syree Matthews

Passer Rating

08/29/25 vs Paloma Valley	133.8
10/23/25 @ Lakeside	130.8
10/16/25 vs Perris	127.3
11/07/25 @ Hesperia	110.1
08/21/25 vs Eisenhower	108.3
+ 5 more games

Despite the loss, Moreno Valley still got an impressive performance from Syree Matthews, who rushed for 152 yards and one touchdown, and also threw for 258 yards and a pair of TDs. Matthews' passing game has become a key predictor of the Vikings' success: the team is 7-1 when his passer rating is 100 or higher, but only 1-2 otherwise. Johnny Robinson was in the mix as well, providing Moreno Valley with two scores.

Hesperia's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Darius Williams, who threw for 181 yards and one TD while completing 76.9% of his passes, and also rushed for 45 yards. Those 45 rushing yards gave Williams a new career-high. Zamar Malveaux was another key player, rushing for 55 yards and three touchdowns.

This is the second loss in a row for Moreno Valley and nudges their season record down to 8-3. Those defeats can't be blamed on the team's defensive effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 27 points in those games. As for Hesperia, their victory bumped their record up to 7-4.

Moreno Valley does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Hesperia, they are taking a road trip to face off against Norte Vista at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The Braves will roll in looking for their fifth straight win, something the Scorpions surely won't give up without a fight.