Two dominant backs in Brian Bonner and Monty Coleman are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Valencia Vikings will welcome the Castaic Coyotes at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Valencia knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 31 points or more in their past four contests -- so hopefully Castaic likes a good challenge.
Last Friday, Valencia was fully in charge, breezing past Hart 44-14 on the road. The result was nothing new for the Vikings, who have now won four games by 28 points or more so far this season.
Valencia's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Bonner, who gained 265 total yards and a touchdown, and Brady Bretthauer, who threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns while completing 81% of his passes. Bonner's longest rush was for an incredible 98 yards. Nick Seymour was Bretthauer's top target, picking up 119 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Valencia's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB four times. Xander Hohler was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up two sackshimself. He is becoming a predictor of Valencia's success: when he posts at least two sacks the team is 2-1 (and 2-3 when he doesn't).
Meanwhile, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Castaic beat Saugus 20-16 on Friday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Coyotes.
Coleman continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 231 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 9.2 yards per carry. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 112.8 rushing yards per game.
Castaic was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 216 rushing yards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved they're rushing yard total in three consecutive matches.
Castaic wouldn't let Saugus keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Castaic can thank Rossie Cherry and Aidan Mojica for forcing both of them.
Valencia pushed their record up to 4-4 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. As for Castaic, their win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 4-5.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Valencia has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 198.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Castaic struggles in that department as they've been averaging 160.2. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Valencia against Castaic when the teams last played back in September of 2023, as the team secured a 48-14 victory. In that game, Valencia amassed a halftime lead of 35-7, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
