On Balance, Valencia Pulls Away to Beat Savanna, 28-14

Valencia used a balanced offense Thursday night to break away from a 14-14 second-quarter tie and defeat Savanna, 28-14, in an Orange League game at Glover Stadium.

The Tigers passed for 246 yards and rushed for 173.

“We try to mix it up between the run and the pass and it worked for us tonight,” Valencia Coach Mike Marrujo said.

Valencia struck four minutes into the game when running back Scott Parker broke free for a 35-yard touchdown run. Keith Allen’s kick made it 7-0.

Less than three minutes later the Rebels tied the score, 7-7, on a 10-yard touchdown run by Micos Benjamin.

The Tigers (6-1, 2-0) got the ball back and drove 76 yards, capped by an 11-yard touchdown pass from Brian Bartczak to Dan Foster that made it 14-7.

Savanna (3-4, 1-1) answered again with quarterback Brad Thompson’s 66-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Torres.

But Valencia took the lead for good on its next possession when Bartczak hooked up with Sonny Lopez for an 87-yard touchdown pass. The extra point failed, leaving the Tigers a 20-14 halftime lead.

After a scoreless third quarter, Valencia scored again in the fourth when Parker ran one yard for a touchdown. Bartczak then connected with Giovanni Alvarez-Mena for two points to push the lead to 28-14.

“Our defense was a little shaky in the first half, but they really made some big plays for us in the second,” Marrujo said. “Defense wins ballgames and that’s not a cliche.”