Valencia’s Defense Takes Care of Brea; Young Keys Offense

Valencia shut out Brea Olinda, 31-0, in an Orange League game Thursday night at Valencia High.

Valencia (5-3, 2-1 in league) moved into a second-place tie with Brea (4-4, 2-1), and plays next week against Anaheim (4-4, 3-0), which defeated Magnolia, 26-21, Thursday.

The Tigers used a balanced attack, gaining 166 yards on the ground and 149 in the air.

“We wanted to mix it up,” Valencia Coach Mike Marrujo said. “We knew we just couldn’t run the ball on them.”

Valencia quarterback Eric Young completed 10 of 16 passes for 149 yards and three touchdowns.

Two of those touchdowns were to Alex Martinez, who kicked a 30-yard field goal in the first quarter to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.

“He [Martinez] never comes off the field,” Marrujo said. “He made some really big plays for us.”

One of those big plays came with 4 minutes 44 seconds remaining in the first quarter, when he caught a pass and dashed 54 yards for a touchdown.

Valencia extended its lead to 17-0 at halftime on a 27-yard touchdown catch by Matt Randolph.

Brea couldn’t get anything started as its offense never penetrated the Tiger 20-yard line. The Wildcats gained only 104 total yards.

Martinez caught his second touchdown with 6:39 remaining in the game, capping a 19-play, 96-yard drive which ran more than 11 minutes off the clock.

After an interception by Tarl Lang, Greg Sams added a seven-yard touchdown run with four minutes remaining.

Said Marrujo: “Everything is in our own hands to win the league championship.”