VALENCIA — “Going forward my goal is to win every single game, have a breakout season and … playing both ways, I’m just an athlete, I’ve been an athlete. And I just had to transfer to know that, you know.”
That’s what Valencia senior receiver/cornerback Elias Holloway – a transfer from Chaminade – said after his standout performance in Valencia’s 28-7 win over Simi Valley on Friday night.
Things started strong for the Vikings when senior quarterback Brady Bretthauer found Holloway open in the flat and he took it the rest of the way for a 43-yard touchdown to open up the scoring with 10:11 left in the first quarter.
From there, Holloway continued to make his presence felt in the first half, getting an interception and two pass breakups in the period.
Valencia was able to stymie Simi Valley’s offense in the half, and the Vikings stayed on top 7-0 before two late touchdowns – a two-yard score from senior running back Brian Bonner and an 18-yard catch from sophomore Matthew Steen – broke things open heading into halftime.
The Vikings took a 21-0 lead into the break and from there it was “all systems go” for a strong Valencia defense.
Caleb Larson – a transfer from Mountain View High School in Arizona – got his first sack as a Viking on a key 3rd down for Simi Valley in the redzone. That came after Simi Valley quarterback Connor Petrov led the Pioneers on what would have been a key scoring drive to open the 3rd quarter.
One play later, Valencia forced a turnover on downs, and ended any hope of a Pioneer comeback with a methodical, ball-control heavy offense.
The Vikings were able to succeed at that despite star running back Bonner – a Washington commit – being at “60 percent,” according to Valencia head coach Larry Muir, who said that the senior ball carrier “was sick all week.”
A 30-yard touchdown run on a quarterback draw from Bretthauer put Valencia up 28-0, and a late interception return for a touchdown by Simi Valley’s Cole Alejo off backup quarterback Evan McCalister proved to be a consolation prize of sorts for the Pioneers, who fell to 0-2 on the season after the 28-7 road defeat.
Muir was proud of his team’s defense after the win, an element of their program that had a difficult start to last season.
“I thought the defense did an outstanding job,” Muir said. “I thought they did a great job against the run. You always gotta be able to establish your defensive run game to get yourself into those 3rd down situations… I also thought the defensive secondary did a great job of limiting… really limiting their big plays.”
For Muir he was pleased with the overall performance his team put together against the Pioneers.
“The reality is, this is our first time getting out on the field and getting, you know, together as a group,” he said. “You got a lot of new players and young players coming up, so your kind of in that ‘unknown’ of ‘okay, how are they gonna perform?” You feel good about the preparation and you feel good about how they practice and they did a great job of that. Now, how are they gonna perform, and I thought so many guys did a nice job of performing tonight.”
It’s simultaneously a time of continuity and transition for Valencia, and Muir was complimentary of Holloway after the win.
“Great player, he’s a playmaker,” Muir said. “Did a great job for us on both sides of the ball and what a tribute to him that a new guy really learned our system and became a captain for us, and he performed. He made great plays for us on both sides of the ball.”
Valencia (1-0) heads on the road next Friday to take on Chaminade, while Simi Valley (0-2) will stay on the road and face Shadow Ridge (Nevada) next Friday.