Valencia shuts out West Ranch in its Foothill League opener

VALENCIA — Valencia defeated West Ranch in their Foothill League opener with a dominant 48-0 showing on Friday night, but the prevailing thought postgame was on the health of West Ranch’s Isac Kim.

The Wildcat junior suffered an injury and was taken to a hospital in an ambulance with 6 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and the remainder of the game was called off. Kim had movement in his extremities and gestured positively toward the home West Ranch crowd as he was being moved on a stretcher into the ambulance.

“The most important thing is his safety and his health,” Valencia head coach Larry Muir said.

“Super happy that so far it seemed like he was doing fairly well and so… we just wish him the best and our thoughts will stay with him and all that good stuff.”

On the field, Valencia was able to stifle West Ranch’s offense all game.

Junior defensive back Anthony Vernon set up a Valencia touchdown when he intercepted quarterback Blake Johnson and returned it to West Ranch’s 9-yard line.

Valencia quarterback Brady Bretthauer hit Elias Holloway for a touchdown on a slant route on the next play, and Valencia led 21-0 at the end of the first quarter.

The Vikings took control of things early with a dynamic running game led by senior Brian Bonner.

The Washington commit tallied 120 rushing yards and two touchdowns by the late stages of the first quarter, giving his team firm control and a 14-0 lead early – a lead that never felt in danger the entire game.

West Ranch’s bright spot came late in the first quarter, when Johnson found Dylan Williams for a 55-yard gain that put the Wildcats on Valencia’s 26.

West Ranch finished the possession empty-handed; however, when Valencia blocked their 39-yard field goal attempt.

It was an all-around great showing for Valencia, but Bretthauer made sure to keep the focus on getting better, even with the win, when asked if the victory was a statement

“Yeah, you could say it was a statement… Going into league, our whole thing is not worrying about who we’re playing each week, it’s just about playing our best football,” he said.

“I think we could’ve done a better job of that today. I don’t think we played our best football and we still were able to get it done.”

The Vikings showcased plenty of depth in the win as well. Freshman backup quarterback Evan McCalister threw a touchdown pass late in the second quarter to give Valencia a 35-0 lead at halftime and was composed during his playing time in the second half, while backup running backs Justin Pointer and Luke Valdes each found the end zone.

“I think it’s important that we as a team make progress, not just ‘this guy’ or ‘this guy’ … As a team, that we make progress and we push in the right direction,” Muir said postgame, and he also had some words to say about his two quarterbacks.

“Brady [Bretthauer] and Evan [McCalister], the two of them, the way they work together, his leadership and his mentorship toward Evan is absolutely just awesome. Their relationship is terrific and a lot of that comes from… both of them are just quality.”

Valencia (4-1, 1-0 Foothill League) will host Saugus next week, while West Ranch (1-4, 0-1) has a bye before playing Hart at home on Oct. 3.