It was a disappointing trip to Valencia for the Santa Monica High School football team last week. Valencia overpowered Santa Monica 42-21 to come away with an easy victory.
Santa Monica went into halftime with the score tied at 14. Valencia then outscored the Vikings 28-0 during the last two quarters to pull away for the non league win. That defeat left Santa Monica with a 2-2 record going into this week’s matchup against Hart at Santa Monica City College.
Despite the loss, Santa Monica still has a reason to hold their heads up high. The Vikings is still considered to be one of the top teams in the CIF Southern Section Division Western IV division.
The Vikings, ranked behind Morningside in the Ocean League, is the No.6 team in the Western IV division. Santa Monica has a chance to redeem that defeat when they come up across Hart, Morningside and Beverly Hills in successful weeks.
In short, those three games could be the kicker, in terms of determining if the Vikings will have a chance to take the Ocean League crown. And if the Vikings get to achieve that goal, it’s likely that several members of the Santa Monica team will have a hand in the matter.
Kwame Duggins (221 yards) and Will Taylor (143 yards) are the team’s rushing leaders and have combined for a total 464 yards on the ground. Another reason the Vikings should feel good about their chances about Ocean League play and possible postseason consideration is their biggest playmaker in De’Jai Whitaker.
Whitaker has gotten into the end zone enough to score 24 points for the Vikings.