It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but the Pleasant Valley Vikings had no problem doing just that on Friday. They enjoyed a cozy 31-12 victory over the Matadors. Winning may never get old, but Pleasant Valley sure are getting used to it with their sixth in a row.
Lucas Benson went supernova for Pleasant Valley, rushing for 133 yards and three touchdowns, while also throwing for 11 yards and a touchdown while completing 100% of his passes. Benson hasn't dropped below 100 rushing yards for three straight games.
The team's defense also helped out by holding Miramonte to a paltry 195 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to Pleasant Valley's ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid the passer out eight times before it was all said and done. The heavy lifting was done by Daniel Barriga and Gavin Garretson who racked up seven sacks between them.
When it comes to explaining why Miramonte lost, one person who can't be blamed is Jack Quinnild. Despite the final result, he picked up 88 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Quinnild has been hot recently, having posted two or more receiving touchdowns the last three times he's played.
Pleasant Valley has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 10-3 record this season. As for Miramonte, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-4.
Pleasant Valley will square off against Ramona at 8:00 p.m. on Friday. Ramona is coming into the contest hot, having won their last five games. Miramonte does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
