Potent Trio Give Valencia Its 8th Title in 9 Years

If only all coaches could have it this easy. With the Orange League football championship on the line Friday night, all Valencia Coach Mike Marrujo had to decide was which player to hand the ball to.

How about running back Ryan Roskelly, who rushed for 141 yards and three touchdowns in the Tigers’ 40-8 victory over Savanna that clinched their eighth league title in nine years?

How about running back Willie Barnes, who had 159 yards in 15 carries?

Or slotback Korey Alexander, who rushed for 24 yards, caught two passes for 48 yards and scored three touchdowns?

Marrujo had no problems getting offensive fireworks from the host Tigers, who will likely be the top-seeded team when the Southern Section Division VI playoff pairings are announced Sunday.

“I’ve been able to rotate my backs and bring in fresh ones at them all year,” Marrujo said.

The Tigers (10-0, 5-0) had 414 yards total offense, including 364 rushing. They scored on four of their five first-half possessions--including three touchdowns by Alexander--and led, 26-0 at halftime.

Alexander, a senior with 16 touchdowns this season, scored on a six-yard pass from Marc O’Brien, and on runs of five and six yards.

Roskelly had the Tigers’ other first-half touchdown, a one-yard dive that helped give the Tigers a 7-0 lead with 7 minutes 21 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Roskelly set up his touchdown run by intercepting a Brad Belanger pass at the Savanna 29 on the second play of the game.

Another Belanger mistake led to Valencia’s second touchdown. Valencia’s Chad Yopp recovered a Belanger fumble at the Savanna 13, and, two plays later, O’Brien threw to Alexander in the end zone.

“Those turnovers helped us right off the bat,” Marrujo said.

Valencia gained 212 yards in the first half--204 rushing--to Savanna’s 52. Savanna (6-3-1, 4-1) crossed midfield twice late in the second quarter, but failed to convert on two fourth-down attempts.

The Tigers terrorized Belanger, sacking him eight times for 28 yards. Belanger, who has thrown for more than 1,300 yards this season, was 12-of-25 for 105 yards.

Savanna’s only touchdown--set up by a 58-yard interception return by John Cho--came on a two-yard run by Jeff Ragos with 2:32 left in the third quarter.

Valencia’s 10 regular-season victories tie the school record set in 1984. Afterward, someone asked Marrujo, who has a 106-26-5 record at the school, which team was better--1991 or 1984?

“I better not say,” Marrujo said. “The guys from the ’84 team would all come back and get me. I think this team (1991) is a little faster.”