It was a seemingly never-ending cascade of points for the host Valhalla Norsemen in topping visiting San Jacinto Valley Academy last Friday in non-league play. The 75-0 win was the largest winning margin in Grossmont Conference history.
That’s how the new head coaching era of Jason Carter began.
Senior running back Jayden Hunter, a transfer from Mt. Miguel, led the history-making rout by rushing for 79 yards on four carries and four touchdowns. It was a most efficient evening.
Senior Jeremiah Loper, another Mt. Miguel transfer, added two touchdowns on two carries.
The new-look Norseman racked up 420 yards in total offense as junior quarterback Adrian Wilson completed seven of nine passes for 216 yards and four touchdowns. Loper completed two passes for an additional 33 yards to hike Valhalla’s prolific passing performance to 249 yards on the night.
Freshman A.J. Wright turned a short pass into a 78-yard breakaway score for the game’s most spectacular touchdown. He later caught a 33-yard scoring pass to make his varsity debut with 151 receiving yards and two scores. He also made a statement on defense with a 30-yard interception return to set up another VHS touchdown and finish the game with 181 all-purpose yards.
The Norsemen scored in a variety of ways: seven rushing touchdowns (four by Hunter. Two by Loper and one by Wilson), six touchdown passes (four by Wilson and two by Loper) and one defensive score on a fumble recovery.
Sophomore Camryn Conley (three catches, 82 yards) and freshman Jordan Codre (two catches, 30 yards) also caught scoring passes in the game for the victors.
Valhalla led 48-0 midway through the second quarter en route to ending the game with a running clock.
The Norsemen finished 3-8 last season and look to put the bad taste of a 0-10 season in 2018 well behind them. They will be out to prove their season-opening win against an over-matched opponent was not fluke when they travel to Castle Park for a non-league game on Sept. 4.
Castle Park, 1-9 last season, defeated visiting Victory Christian Academy, 32-0, last Friday in non-league play to record the first varsity football victory in its new on-campus stadium.
