PREP FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS / CENTRAL CONFERENCE : Valencia Takes First Step, 27-0

Valencia High School would like nothing better than to avenge its loss in the Central Conference championship game last year to Bolsa Grande.

Friday night, the Tigers took the first step in that direction by shutting out Santiago, 27-0, in a first-round playoff game at Placentia’s Bradford Stadium.

Valencia running back Keef Leasure rushed for 168 yards in 23 carries and scored all four Tiger touchdowns. The Tigers advanced to the quarterfinals for the fifth consecutive year. Leasure scored twice in the first half on a 2-yard run and a 1-yard run. He added touchdown runs of six yards and one yard in the second.

Santiago quarterback Jason Marquez had a rough night. Starting in place of Dana Ripley, who could not play because of an ankle injury suffered in last week’s game against Pacifica, Marquez completed only 4 of 10 pass for 38 yards and had three passes intercepted. He was also sacked 10 times by a strong Valencia defense, which gave up only 32 total yards.

Valencia (9-2), the Orange League champion and the No. 2 seed in the Central Conference, will play Corona del Mar next Friday at a site to be determined by a coin flip. Santiago, which finished third in the Garden Grove League, ended the season 5-5-1, making the playoffs for the first time since 1978.