VALENCIA -- Running back Ryan Salcedo found wide open space and bolted down the right sideline for a 79-yard touchdown to give Bishop Amat a thrilling 42-38 victory over Valencia on Friday night.
For Valencia, it was the last in a series of mistakes against the run and in kickoff coverage that ultimately proved too costly to overcome. Even still, the Vikings had a chance to steal the win on the final play of the game, but senior quarterback Brady Bretthauer's pass whizzed past sophomore receiver Hudson Sanders' hands. When it hit the ground, it was a question of "what could've been" for the Vikings as the Bishop Amat sideline erupted in celebration, water flying through the air and Lancers cheerleaders running on the turf at Valencia High School.
"We didn't play to the standard that we should, and at the end of the day, that's on me, and that's my fault and so I gotta fix that. It's my job to fix that."
Valencia head coach Larry Muir said that following his team's loss, a defeat that felt preventable at times.
One of the key moments in the contest was when Bretthauer found senior running back Brian Bonner for an 85-yard touchdown pass - a score that extended Valencia's lead to 21-7 with 43 seconds left in the 2nd quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, Bishop Amat's Salcedo had a return for a touchdown, slicing Valencia's advantage back down to seven and giving Amat a much-needed jolt of momentum heading into halftime.
Amat later tied the game when Salcedo scored a 48-yard rushing touchdown early in the 3rd quarter - one of his six total touchdowns on the night.
Eventually, Valencia took a 31-28 lead with eight minutes remaining in the 4th quarter after Matteo Petroski made a 51-yard field goal.
But things changed drastically after Bishop Amat blocked a Valencia punt with 3:46 remaining, a play that gave the Lancers a goal-to-go situation.
Amat scored on the next play to retake the lead 35-31, but Bretthauer and Valencia responded with a surgical 80-yard drive to again lead the game 38-35 after the quarterback found an open Anthony Vernon for a 23-yard touchdown with 1:07 remaining.
But Valencia couldn't get one final stop, Salcedo played the hero for Amat, and the Vikings are heading back to the drawing board of sorts after their first loss of the season.
"We didn't play at our best, and our best was needed. That's discipline, that is effort sometimes, and between those two things we didn't play the way that we needed to," Muir said.
Muir commented on Valencia's kickoff coverage, including the score that led to Bishop Amat cutting their deficit to seven right before halftime.
"Our coverage was terrible. They did a great job of getting to the field, and our coverage of the field was really bad. The ball got outside of us, and we did a poor job of covering the kick."
Overall, Valencia did play well at times and showed why they earned a lot of praise early on after consecutive wins over Simi Valley and Chaminade, but mistakes in special teams proved to be their undoing in a thrilling game that the Vikings ended on the wrong side of.
They'll try to turn things around when they head on the road to face Paraclete next Friday, Sept. 12.