The Simi Valley Pioneers lost against the Oaks Christian Lions back in October of 2022, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. Simi Valley was dealt a 48-16 defeat at the hands of Oaks Christian. While losing is never fun, Simi Valley can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 152nd, while Oaks Christian is ranked 20th).
Simi Valley's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Brice Hawkins, who rushed for 151 yards while picking up 7.9 yards per carry, and Jayden Clarke who rushed for 37 yards and a touchdown. Hawkins' longest rush was for an incredible 70 yards.
Even if they lost, Simi Valley's defensive line still kept up the pressure with five sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Izak Simpson and Isaac Hannans who racked up four sacks between them.
Leading Oaks Christian to victory were Nate Bennett and Chase Farrell. Bennett threw for 342 yards and four touchdowns while completing 74.1% of his passes, while Farrell picked up 254 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Bennett is on a roll when it comes to passing touchdowns, as he's now passed for three or more in the last three games he's played. Justin Lewis got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
This is the second loss in a row for Simi Valley and nudges their season record down to 5-4. Admittedly, the team was facing some tough opposition over that stretch, including 7-2 St. Bonaventure (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 77.8% over those games). As for Oaks Christian, the victory was the fifth in a row for they, bringing their record for this year to 7-2.
Simi Valley will head out on the road to face off against Bishop Diego at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. As for Oaks Christian, they will look to defend their home field on Friday against St. Bonaventure at 7:00 p.m. St. Bonaventure is also coming in off of a big victory, so somebody is in for a big reversal of fortune.
