The Hillcrest Christian Saints and the Santa Clara Saints squared off in some playoff action on Friday, but sadly the Hillcrest Christian Saints had to settle for second. Hillcrest Christian was beaten by Santa Clara 50-20. The game was a close 22-20 at the break, but unfortunately for Hillcrest Christian it sure didn't stay that way.
Several Saints players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Mason Stueber, who picked up 145 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Another player making a difference was Tyler Pickett, who threw for 200 yards and three touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes.
Jason Valenzuela was his usual excellent self, rushing for 124 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 7.3 yards per carry, and also throwing for 167 yards and two touchdowns while completing 73.7% of his passes. Valenzuela hasn't dropped below 100 rushing yards for three straight games. Lucas Mendez was in the mix too, providing Santa Clara with two touchdowns.
This is the second loss in a row for Hillcrest Christian and nudges their season record down to 6-4. As for Santa Clara, the win makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 7-4.
Hillcrest Christian does not have any more games scheduled as of now. Santa Clara will head out on the road to face off against Windward at 2:00 p.m. on Friday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in California (Windward is ranked 28th, while Santa Clara is ranked 23rd).
