SOUTHERN SECTION FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS : Valencia Can’t Keep Up With Sunny Hills : Division VI: Kenny Overby rushes for 156 yards and scores twice in Lancers’ 23-10 victory.

Senior running back Kenny Overby rushed for 156 yards on 20 carries and scored two touchdowns to lead Sunny Hills High School to a 23-10 victory over Valencia in a Division VI playoff semifinal Friday at Fullerton High School.

The Lancers (10-3) advanced to the divisional championship game against the winner of tonight’s Tustin-Rancho Alamitos matchup.

Overby’s touchdown runs covered six and 66 yards and pretty much sealed the fate of a Valencia team that seemed overmatched from the start.

The Lancers scored on their first possession on a 25-yard field goal by Matt Young with 2 minutes 46 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Sunny Hills had penetrated to the Valencia nine before it had to settle for the three points.

But in the second quarter, Overby shifted into high gear. His first touchdown came at the end of a nine-play, 80-yard drive with 7:30 left in the second period.

Valencia (11-2) answered with a 21-yard field goal by Dave Greer on a drive that would have resulted in a touchdown had it not been for two exceptional plays by Sunny Hills defenders.

On a second-and-goal from the Lancer nine, Valencia running back Willie Barnes was stopped for no gain by Sunny Hills defensive back David Wilde. On the next play, Sunny Hills defensive back Stephen Choe tipped a pass intended for running back Korey Alexander in the left corner of the end zone.

Overby then dashed for 66 yards on Sunny Hills’ first play on the ensuing possession to give the Lancers a 16-3 lead.

Valencia cut the margin when junior running back Ryan Roskelly went in from the one with 4:51 to play in the third period.

The play was set up by a 48-yard run by Roskelly along the right sideline to the Sunny Hills one-yard line, where he was pushed out of bounds by defensive back Mike Sullivan.

Sullivan, who split time between running back and the defensive unit, capped the Sunny Hills scoring with an eight-yard touchdown run with 2:04 left in the third quarter. Sullivan also had a 21-yard run in the drive. He finished with 89 yards on 15 carries.

Valencia was led by Roskelly, who gained 128 yards on 16 carries.

Defensively for Sunny Hills, linebackers Shannon Nipp and Brian Gluhak each intercepted a pass by Valencia quarterback Marc O’Brien, who completed only 10 of 25 passes for 101 yards.

Was Sunny Hills Coach Tim Devaney happy with the victory?

“We are going to the CIF finals. How can you not be happy,” he said. “Our defense just had another outstanding game. It makes you feel like you’ve accomplished something when you beat Valencia.”