Valley Goes the Extra Yard, Pounds Santa Monica, 70-32

Was the Valley College football team trying to send a message Saturday night to anyone who doubts its place among the junior college elite?

If so, Santa Monica was the sacrificial lamb.

The Monarchs stayed on track to win the mythical national championship with a 70-32 victory over Santa Monica in a Western State Conference South Division game.

Valley (10-0, 9-0 in conference play) finished 6-0 in the division, one game ahead of the Corsairs (7-2-1, 7-2-1).

The Monarchs, top-ranked in the state and in one national poll, will face Long Beach in the Strawberry Bowl at Cerritos College on Dec. 2. Long Beach (10-0) is ranked second in the state and first in the nation in another national poll.

It was the 13th victory in a row for Valley, the longest streak in the state and its 12th consecutive on the road. Santa Monica had not lost since its opener against Hancock.

And the Monarchs remained unbeaten with an impressive display, racking up a team-record 739 yards and the most points of the season. The previous mark was 718 against West L.A. in 1993.

“It was a good sign everything was clicking,” said Jim Fenwick, Valley’s coach. “The players responded all year.”

Fenwick now has guided two teams to perfect regular-season records. But he wants the similarities to end there. His Pierce squad was 10-0 and ranked No. 1 in the nation in 1984 before losing to Taft in the Potato Bowl.

The Monarchs pummeled Santa Monica from the outset, scoring on their first four possessions for a 28-0 lead after one quarter.

Santa Monica closed the gap to 28-18 midway through the second quarter before the Monarchs poured it on again.

Freshman Marcus Harvey and sophomores Aaron Flowers and Cameron Perry led Valley.

Harvey registered a season-high 204 yards in 17 carries and two touchdowns. He scored on runs of one and three yards and also had runs of 42, 38 and 32 yards.

Flowers completed 18 of 27 for 329 yards and a season-high five touchdowns. Perry, in his first game back after suffering a broken hand against Pierce on Oct. 14, made eight receptions for 191 yards.