Valley inches closer to playoffs with 44-8 win at Rancho

Valley wasn’t about to let another potential win slip through its grasp, scoring 28 points in seven minutes in the second half to pull away from host Rancho 44-8 on Friday.

“That was a really good game for us,” Valley coach George Baker said. “Our kids stepped up in the second half.”

The Vikings returned two fumble recoveries for touchdowns, while quarterback Sonny Gibson hit Leyland Crawford for a 42-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter to begin Valley’s scoring spree.

David Smith ran for 84 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Bryce Jones opened the game’s scoring with a 70-yard fumble return for a touchdown late in the first quarter and added a 46-yard scoring scamper in the fourth quarter. Iyen Medlock added a rushing touchdown and had three two-point conversions (one receiving, two rushing).

A week after blowing a two-touchdown lead against Eldorado, the Vikings (2-6, 1-2 Northeast League) responded by turning a 16-8 contest midway through the third quarter into a blowout.

“We were down at the start of Monday’s practice,” Medlock said. “We were heartbroken about that loss. However, the coach and our captains told everybody we had to perk up. We then had a good, hard week of practice.”

In doing so, Valley could be in line for its first playoff appearance since 2011. Valley also secured its first road victory since its final regular-season contest in 2013, also a blowout victory over Rancho, 74-15.

“I feel like we are making history since it has been so long since we made the playoffs,” Medlock said. “It has just been great to get some wins. This year, we seem to be more like a family instead of a football team. We hang out together even after practice.”

Valley cobbled together a 16-0 halftime lead on Jones’ defensive score and Smith’s 3-yard touchdown run with five seconds remaining in the second quarter. But Vikings coaches weren’t satisfied and reminded the players of last week’s loss.

“At halftime, we told them to close their eyes and imagine how it felt to lose last week,” Baker said. “We wanted them to come out and play like we know they are capable of playing. It still took Rancho to score before they got going.”

Rancho (0-7, 0-2) came into the game having scored only 40 points all season, and got its lone touchdown in the third quarter. The Rams went for it on a fourth-and-12 from their own 32-yard line and Noah Fuller hit Gentry Roberts down the right sideline for a 42-yard pass play.

Three players later, Fuller hit Jonathan Gunter on a 17-yard touchdown pass off a hitch-and-go fade route. Fuller then scrambled in on the two-point conversion try to cut the Vikings lead to 16-8 with 4:26 remaining in the third quarter.

Valley answered with a score, and effectively ended the game with a 30-yard scoop and score by Trayvion Mack-Burton on the Rams’ next possession to put Valley up 30-8.

Fuller was 8 of 20 for 126 yards, a touchdown, and an interception while Roberts caught three passes for 85 yards. Jordan Betts ran nine times for 60 yards as Rancho put 243 yards of offense. Unfortunately, four turnovers doomed their chances.

“Turnovers have been killing us,” Rancho coach Stan Davis said. “When you are struggling, you can’t beat yourself.”