Valencia football returns to CIF-SS Division 2 playoffs
This season has marked a fresh start for Valencia football in many ways. The Vikings got a new turf field, went unbeaten to earn the Foothill League title and now they’re back in Division 2 of the CIF Southern Section playoffs.
It’s the first time the Vikings are in Division 2 since 2017 when they lost a CIF-SS championship matchup by one point to Oaks Christian.
“You have nonconference, you have league, and now it’s like a brand new season,” coach Larry Muir said. “Everyone is kind of on the same page, where everyone has to go 1-0 or you’re going home. You’re guaranteed four quarters of football and you’ve gotta make it happen.”
Valencia (9-1) will travel to play Servite (5-5), an at-large team from the Trinity League, on Friday at 7 p.m. It’s the first time the two teams will play each other.
Valencia and Oaks Christian are on opposite sides of the Division 2 bracket, so a rematch could be possible.
Every member of the Vikings coaching staff was on hand on Sunday morning for the moment the Southern Section released the playoff pairings and immediately began scouting when they were dealt Servite.
The Friars also are having somewhat of a fresh start under the direction of first-year head coach Chris Reinert, who previously coached at the University of Colorado.
“You’re playing the highest quality competition when you talk about the Trinity League,” Muir said, “and certainly they’re on virtually a national level in terms of competition week in and week out. You always want to play against the best. We always pride ourselves on wanting to play really good teams.”
Valencia wrapped up its first undefeated Foothill League season since 2019 on Friday with a shutout of Canyon. The Vikings defense has held an opponent to seven points or less on four different occasions this season.
Linebackers Reid Farrell and Tony Testa have been leaders on a ballhawk defense this season and Jake Pikor adds support up front at defensive end. Luke Cruz and Jordan Cardenas have also been credited with four interceptions apiece this season.
“We think our defense is a really special group and they’ve been playing with each other for a long time,” Muir said. “We get a lot of big plays out of our defense and a lot of times they stabilize a lot of things for us.”
Valencia, which lost in the first round of the Division 4 playoffs last season, will be on the road to begin the 16-team Division 2 bracket with hopes of returning to its brand-new home field. The school received a fresh turf field after its previous one was unusable for the first five games of the season.
New challenges await in playoffs and Valencia will rely on what’s carried them through adversity thus far.
“A lot of it is the attitude of our kids and their focus and their preparation,” Muir said. “Certainly we have really talented kids, but I just think that they have done a great job of buying into each other and playing for each other.”