Santa Barbara lost to Valencia back in August of 2023, but they didn't allow them the same satisfaction on Friday. The Santa Barbara Dons put the hurt on the Valencia Vikings with a sharp 47-23 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Dons.
Laird Finkel went supernova for Santa Barbara, throwing for 283 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 39 yards. Kai Mault was Finkel's top target, picking up 128 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Santa Barbara's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Monty Lopez. He is also on a roll when it comes to defended passes, as he's now defended at least one in the last five games he's played dating back to last season.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Santa Barbara was moving up and down the field and finished the game with 476 total yards. That's the most total yards they've posted since was before the start of last season.
When it comes to explaining why Valencia lost, don't look at Brian Bonner. Despite the final result, he rushed for 98 yards and two touchdowns, and also picked up 80 receiving yards. Bonner got the majority of those receiving yards when he pulled down a pass and took off for a gain of 57 yards. Matthew Steen also played a phenomenal game despite the final result: he picked up 105 receiving yards.
Santa Barbara's win was their seventh straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 2-0. As for Valencia, their loss ended a five-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 0-2.
Santa Barbara will challenge Dos Pueblos at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Valencia, they will take on Murrieta Mesa at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Hopefully Valencia focused on turnovers this week as team gave up four on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
