VALENCIA — Chaminade football has come into this season with big goals in mind.
Coming off a pedestrian 2025 campaign that saw the Eagles go 5-5 in the regular season before bowing out in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 2 playoffs, Chaminade has rebounded nicely with a dominant start to 2026.
After kicking off its season with a 38-9 win at Leilehua in Hawaii and returning to the mainland to shut out Oaks Christian 18-0, Chaminade traveled to Valencia on Friday night and dominated the Vikings 35-10.
The Eagles (3-0) took a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter after sophomore quarterback Jeremy Mellalieu found senior receiver Andrew Cordero wide open down the right sideline for a 77-yard touchdown.
It was one of four touchdown passes for the Eagles’ signal-caller on the night, but Chaminade’s defense again showed its grit.
Facing a young but talented Valencia (1-1) team, Chaminade was able to stymie any Vikings momentum, largely through great defensive line play.
Valencia sophomore quarterback Evan McCalister didn’t have much time to throw, and senior running back Nico Funez couldn’t find many holes in his second game as a full-time starter in the backfield.
That was largely due to Chaminade senior defensive lineman Kingston Williams.
Williams, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound defensive lineman who is committed to UNLV, made his presence felt throughout the game on his way to multiple tackles for loss and a fourth-quarter sack.
In addition to his game-wrecking exploits on defense, Williams got an opportunity on offense when he came in at fullback and scored on a 1-yard touchdown run that extended Chaminade’s lead to 21-7.
“As a big man, it’s always been a dream to run the football, so especially getting a touchdown … you know, that’s a big man’s dream,” Williams said.
“Offensively, you know we had a chance on a short-yardage situation and he got a touchdown so good for him,” Chaminade coach David Machuca said. “He’s a four-year guy in our program, so it’s great to see him get into the end zone tonight.”
Valencia coach Larry Muir kept it simple after the loss.
“We didn’t execute well on both sides of the ball,” he said.
“A team like (Chaminade), they’re really talented, they’re a really good football team so if you don’t execute well, you make mistakes, missed assignments, penalties, whatever it is … if you don’t play well they’re gonna take advantage and they’re gonna beat you.”
Despite the loss, Muir explained how his team can use the defeat to improve as the season goes on.
“The biggest thing is we gotta go back and look at the mistakes that we made and correct those things and learn from it,” he said. “As long as we can learn from it and grow from it and get better from it, we’re gonna be fine.”
Valencia will head to La Puente next Thursday to take on Bishop Amat, while Chaminade heads into its bye week.
For Williams, he wants to help lead Chaminade back to glory while also leaving a legacy for young players who want to follow in his footsteps.
“Put your head down and work. That’s all you gotta do. Hard work doesn’t go unnoticed at all,” he said when asked what advice he had for younger players coming up.
The senior also made his ambitions for the season clear.
“We gotta win CIF, man, especially class of ‘27 this senior year. You know we’ve been a role model for this program for the last four years, so us coming together and us being a team is our biggest thing, and that’s what’s gonna get us to the biggest thing. That’s what’s gonna get my dogs to the next level. That’s the biggest thing.”