Valencia Rolls Past Overmatched Sonora

It was never a game and--in hindsight--probably shouldn’t have been on the schedule in the first place. Sonora and Valencia high schools went ahead with their traditional nonleague game Thursday night with predictable results.

Valencia won, 41-0, in front of 1,500, but the margin could have been wider. Or closer. In the end, the outcome was determined solely by Valencia, which scored when it wanted to and generally dominated an overmatched team.

Mike Marrujo, Valencia coach, had as much control over the final score as anyone in Bradford Stadium.

When Valencia (2-0, sixth-ranked in Orange County) built a 34-0 lead early in the second quarter, Marrujo sent the substitutes into the game. Later, he walked the sideline without his usual dour look. He said he was making sure everyone had a chance to play.

“They (the subs) were ready by the second quarter,” Marrujo said. “We wanted to do that (get everyone in the game).”

The bottom line was clear, Marrujo said. “We just have more football players than they do.”

Indeed. Sonora (0-2) has only 12 seniors on the roster and only four started on offense Thursday night. Terry Cox, in his second season as Sonora coach, doesn’t have much to work with, and it’s one of the reasons the Raider program has sagged in recent years.

Coming into the season, Sonora was 11-38-1 in the past five years. The Raiders’ last winning season was 1987 when the Raiders were 5-4-1. By contrast, Valencia is 56-8-2 with one Southern Section title over the same period.

“I could have run any offense against them and they would have killed us,” Cox said.

Sonora’s run-and-shoot was effective only after Marrujo substituted, and only once did it come close to scoring. But a fourth-and-goal pass was broken up in the end zone just before halftime.

Valencia ran and passed at will. Running back Ryan Roskelly gained 69 yards and scored three touchdowns in seven carries. Quarterback Marc O’Brien completed six of eight passes for 161 yards and one touchdown.