Valencia Learns Tough Lesson

Manuel White was attempting to rewrite a record, but Valencia High’s talented tailback was facing a school that wrote the book on rushing.

And, on Friday night, Antelope Valley had many authors.

The Antelopes and their backfield-by-committee rolled up 308 yards, outshining White in a 38-14 Antelope victory in the first round of the Southern Section Division II playoffs at Canyon High.

The loss ended an 8-3 season for Valencia, which was making its first postseason appearance in the program’s three-year history.

“There’s a lot of guys with playoff experience and I think that was a big difference,” Coach Brent Newcomb said of his Antelopes, attempting to advance to a division semifinal for the fifth consecutive season.

That poise showed, as Antelope Valley rallied from a 14-9 halftime deficit and took advantage of six Valencia turnovers.

“I’m sure there’s some credence to the experience factor,” Viking Coach Brian Stiman said. “Our kids learned a valuable lesson tonight.”

It was taught by many.

Running back Bruce Molock, hampered much of the season with ankle injuries, busted loose for 168 yards in 13 carries, 134 of those yards coming in the second half as the Antelopes scored 29 unanswered points.

Quarterback Justin Mobley gained 43 yards and scored on runs of one, one and 33 yards. He also passed for 145 yards, including an 85-yard scoring toss to Joe Manning.

Andrew Campbell added 64 yards in four carries, but made his biggest contributions as a linebacker on defense, recovering three Viking fumbles.

Jermaine Norman scored on a seven-yard run, Mentu Daniel rushed for 20 yards and Nakia Manick added 12 for Antelope Valley, which has had to rely on a group of ball carriers in lieu of a headline runner.

The headliner was supposed to be White, last week’s state player of the week in a 300-yard performance against Foothill League rival Canyon.

White finished with 187 yards in 34 carries, but only 39 of those yards came after halftime.

He finished a phenomenal 10th-grade season with 2,189 yards, but fell short of the sophomore state record of 2,339 set by Crespi’s Russell White in 1986.

Manuel White, who scored on a six-yard second-quarter run, lost two of Valencia’s five fumbles.

White had 148 yards at intermission, but was limited to only 39 in the second half by an aggressive Antelope defense.

“We decided at halftime we had to get more red helmets on the ball,” Campbell said.

The Antelopes (7-3) will host defending division champion Dominguez (10-1) next week in a quarterfinal. It will mark the fourth time in two seasons these teams have met, with Dominguez having won each of the previous three.

White gained 148 of his yards in the first half, leading the Vikings to a 14-9 lead at intermission.