Home » Hometown Sports » Relentless Oaks Christian Pass Rush Humbles Valencia Offense in 20-19 D2 Championship Defeat

Relentless Oaks Christian Pass Rush Humbles Valencia Offense in 20-19 D2 Championship Defeat

Two evenly match teams faced off at Paul A. Priesz Stadium (Valencia HS) Friday night, with just a missed extra point and failed 2-point conversion separating Valencia and Oaks Christian in a heavyweight bout fit for a Championship.

Zach Charbonnet opened the scoring for Oaks Christian on a 44 yard TD run on the Lions opening drive to take a 7-0 lead, only the second time all season that Valencia allowed an opening drive touchdown.

A rare sight for the Vikings with back-to-back punts on their first two drives, but Mykael Wright takes over on Oaks Christian’s second offensive drive. The four-star junior intercepts Josh Calvert and then scores on a 33 yard TD catch to get the Vikings within one point after a missed point after.

After a defensive battle throughout the second quarter, Valencia broke through with under 2 minutes to play in the half on an 18 yard touchdown run by Moises Haynes. The Vikings tried a 2-pt conversion and Luring Paiali’i did not get in the end zone, making it a 12-7 game.

Oaks Christian answered immediately in less than a minute with a touchdown from Lions QB Calvert to Fletcher to regain the lead going into halftime.

Mykael Wright continued his strong performance in the 3rd quarter with his second touchdown of the game. Wright made the biggest impact of the Vikings’ skill players, shifting momentum throughout the game (six catches for 82 yards, two touchdowns and an interception) back in Valencia’s favor.

But Oaks Christian’s pass rush harassed Connor Downs all game long, led by five-star junior Kayvon Thibodeaux (three sacks). The Lions’ pass rush controlled the line of scrimmage in the fourth quarter, shutting out the high powered Vikings offense.

OC did just enough on offense in the final 8 minutes, scoring on two short field goals, including a 27 yarder with 2:12 left in the game to take a one point lead over Valencia.

Valencia QB Connor Downs was then sacked on the ensuing drive, a 4th and 13 near midfield with 42 seconds left as Oaks Christian sealed the championship. The Vikings season ended on their home field in heartbreaking fashion, 20-19.

KHTS Sports is your source for the 2017 Santa Clarita high school football season and your daily Dodgers connection for the SCV. If you have any news and notes about our teams and players to share please send them to jp@hometownstation.com, like us on facebook.com/khtssports and follow us @KHTSSports on Twitter and Instagram.

Relentless Oaks Christian Pass Rush Humbles Valencia Offense in 20-19 D2 Championship Defeat

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About Justin Powell

Justin moved to the San Fernando Valley from the Inland Empire in 2011 to complete his BA of Communications degree at California State University, Northridge. Just a few months after getting his degree he moved to Valencia and started as an intern at AM-1220 KHTS, and was promoted to Sports Reporter within a year. Though Justin is still relatively new to the Santa Clarita Valley, he is an avid sports fan and passionate about building the sports department at KHTS into a special source for local high school sports.