Valencia is on a five-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Santa Barbara is on a six-game streak of away wins (also dating back to last season): one of those streaks is about to end. The Valencia Vikings will be defending their home-field for the first time for the first time when they go up against the Santa Barbara Dons at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Valencia is headed into their home opener looking to turn things around after opening their season on the road. They fell 49-41 to Simi Valley on Friday.
Meanwhile, everything went Santa Barbara's way against Camarillo on Friday as Santa Barbara made off with a 42-17 win. Given the Dons' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 124th, while the Scorpions are ranked 432nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
A big part of the victory came down to the chemistry between Laird Finkel and his top target Kai Mault. Finkel threw for 223 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 10.6 yards per attempt while Mault picked up 98 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Santa Barbara didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Jacob Hurtado and DJ Wilson.
Everything came up roses for Valencia against Santa Barbara in their previous meeting back in August of 2023 as the team secured a 45-18 win. Does Valencia have another victory up their sleeve, or will Santa Barbara turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
