The Valley Christian Warriors (1-1) were ecstatic after securing a 42-21 victory over highly regarded Bishop O’Dowd Dragons(2-1), but also suffered a blow as senior two-way player Raigan Hubbard injured his knee and will be out for the rest of the season.
Hubbard tore his LCL and ACL and goes in for surgery on Thursday. Despite the injury, Hubbard has confidence in his teammates.
“Our team is really strong and talented,” said Hubbard. “And I have full confidence that we will be successful this season.”
The Warriors, with Hubbard in the back of their minds, now prepare to play visiting Milpitas (2-0) on Friday, Sept. 21.
During the bye week, the Warriors worked to clean up their overall game -- both in eliminating penalties and mental errors.
Running backs Ryan Severson and Kirk Johnson will continue to lead the running attack, but the real question is who will be handing the ball to them in light of starting quarterback Jay MacIntyre's early season concussion?
“Jay is moving in the right direction,” said Warrior coach Mike Machado. “Hopefully, he can be ready to play soon.”
Bryce Novak has moved over from receiver to fill in for MacIntyre, but the Warriors would like to return Novak to his more familiar receiver and cornerback positions when MacIntyre returns.
Milpitas has dominated in victories against Woodside (50-6) and Andrew Hill (56-0), boasting a wide-open passing game and potent running attack.
Junior Ronnie Reed tossed two touchdown passes against Woodside and connected well with his receivers Isaiah Moreno and Tre Hartley. Another player to watch is senior running back CJ Reyes, who rushed for 90 yards on five carries last game.
Reed continued his passing success against Andrew Hill with another two TDs before giving way to sophomore John Keller who threw for yet another two scores.
“We have to execute and play our game,” Trojan coach Kelly King said. “We run the ball and throw the ball, we do a little bit of each, so we’re pretty balanced.”
It’ll be a test for the Trojans to see how this generally dominating team will match up against a striking WCAL competitor.
The days leading up to the Friday night lights will be important, King said.
“In order to be successful Friday, we got to be successful Monday, Teusday, Wednesday, Thursday," he said. “And hopefully it all takes care of itself on Friday.”
