Norsemen leave another far behind

2026 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL

VALHALLA 66, CASTLE PARK 0

Loper throws three TD passes as Valhalla improves to 2-0 with second consecutive shutout; sophomore Conley produces 280 all-purpose yards

By Ramon Scott
EAST COUNTY SPORTS

CHULA VISTA — Valhalla’s schedule has not yet supplied an opponent capable of pushing the Norsemen deep into a game.

So the Norsemen are pushing one another.

With playmakers competing for touches, young players competing for larger roles and two quarterbacks directing an offense that continues scoring from anywhere on the field, Valhalla followed its record-setting debut with another overwhelming performance Friday night.

Sophomore Camryn Conley amassed 280 all-purpose yards, senior Jeremiah Loper threw three touchdown passes and No. 16 Valhalla blanked Castle Park, 66-0.

The Norsemen reportedly raced to a 24-0 advantage during the opening quarter and improved to 2-0 under first-year head coach Jason Carter.

Combined with their 75-0 victory over San Jacinto Valley Academy, the Norsemen have outscored their first two opponents, 141-0.

Valhalla accumulated 341 yards from scrimmage Friday despite running only 22 recorded offensive plays. The Norsemen added 137 yards on kick and punt returns to finish with 478 all-purpose yards.

That amounts to nearly 22 yards every time a Valhalla player touched the ball on an offensive play or return.

The Norsemen completed 7 of 10 passes for 217 yards and four touchdowns. They added 124 yards and three scores on only 12 rushing attempts.

Seven offensive touchdowns came on just 22 plays from scrimmage.

That efficiency explains why Valhalla has generated two enormous margins without needing to manufacture points after the games were decided. The Norsemen are not grinding through extended drives against exhausted defenders.

They are scoring almost immediately.

Loper completed 5 of 8 passes for 151 yards and three touchdowns, including a 73-yard strike. He added a 20-yard run and finished with 171 yards of total offense on only nine offensive opportunities.

Junior Adrian Wilson, who threw four touchdown passes in the opener, completed both of his attempts for 66 yards and another score. His longest completion covered 57 yards.

Between them, Loper and Wilson averaged an extraordinary 31 yards per completion.

The production was distributed among three receivers.

Conley caught three passes for 74 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman AJ Wright made three receptions for 86 yards and a score, including the 73-yard play. Freshman Tyrell Brown turned his only reception into a 57-yard touchdown.

Senior Jayden Hunter led the ground game with 60 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries. Freshman Deven Segovia added 37 yards and a touchdown on three attempts, averaging 12.3 yards per carry.

Senior Kyle Yousif carried once for seven yards and added a successful two-point conversion. Junior Alan Jalal supplied four points by converting four of six PAT attempts.

Conley was selected as Valhalla’s special-teams player of the game after adding 69 yards on two kickoff returns and 137 yards on two punt returns to his receiving production.

Loper received the offensive honor, while sophomore defensive back Gideon Hypes was selected as the defensive player of the game.

Castle Park’s starting quarterback was reportedly knocked out of the game early, but surely it had little to do with the outcome.

Valhalla’s defense recorded 49 tackles, recovered a fumble and blocked a kick while completing its second consecutive shutout.

Junior Gavin Dysart led the Norsemen with seven tackles and blocked the kick. Freshman Jordan Codre and senior Adrian Rojo-Hernandez made six tackles apiece, while Hypes and senior James Shelton recorded five each.

Freshman Branden Westry-Jones recovered a fumble. Wright and Hunter each broke up a pass.

The complete performance offered further evidence that Valhalla’s transformation involves considerably more than a few prominent transfers.

Freshmen accounted for 180 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns. Sophomores Conley and Hypes received two of the three player-of-the-game awards. The veteran production of Loper, Hunter and Wilson tied everything together.

Valhalla’s greatest problem at the moment is one it cannot solve by changing anything it does on Friday nights.

The Norsemen appear substantially better than the early portion of their schedule.

CONLEY’S 280-YARD NIGHT

Conley’s contribution was the most dynamic individual performance of the night.

The sophomore produced 74 receiving yards, 69 kickoff-return yards and 137 punt-return yards. His 280 all-purpose yards accounted for nearly 59 percent of Valhalla’s recorded all-purpose production.

He averaged 24.7 yards on three receptions, 34.5 yards on two kickoff returns and 68.5 yards on two punt returns.

Conley’s two touchdown receptions also gave him scoring catches in consecutive games after he reached the end zone in the season-opening victory.

The versatility makes him difficult to avoid. An opponent can prevent Valhalla from targeting him on a particular offensive play, but it must still deal with him whenever it kicks the football.

Castle Park learned how quickly field position can disappear.

Conley’s presence also gives the Norsemen another explosive option alongside Wright, Hunter, Loper and Wilson. Valhalla does not need one player to dominate the football because several are capable of turning a limited number of opportunities into touchdowns.

FRESHMEN MAKE THEIR MARK

Wright’s spectacular debut made him the immediate headline among Valhalla’s freshmen, but he is hardly the only ninth-grader contributing.

Wright followed his 151-yard opening performance with 86 yards and another touchdown. Through two games, he has seven receptions for 237 yards and three scores—an average of 33.9 yards per catch.

Brown joined him in the scoring column Friday, taking his only reception 57 yards for a touchdown.

Segovia contributed another score while rushing for 37 yards on three carries. He broke a 28-yard run and averaged 12.3 yards per attempt.

Codre tied for second on the team with six tackles after catching a touchdown pass in the opener. Westry-Jones contributed the fumble recovery.

Those freshmen are developing within a team that already has enough veteran ability to win immediately. That combination gives Carter’s rebuilt program both a high present ceiling and a promising future.

TWO QUARTERBACKS, NO DROP-OFF

Wilson’s nearly flawless opening-night performance established him as one of the county’s most efficient early-season quarterbacks.

Against Castle Park, Loper handled most of the passing opportunities and produced similar results.

Loper accounted for three touchdown passes and averaged 30.2 yards per completion. Wilson entered and completed both attempts, including a 57-yard touchdown.

Together, they have given Valhalla the ability to change quarterbacks without dramatically changing the offense.

Wilson has completed 9 of 11 passes through two games for 282 yards and five touchdowns. Loper’s athletic versatility allows him to influence the game from several positions, but his Castle Park performance demonstrated that the Norsemen can also trust him to direct the passing attack.

For opponents, that creates another preparation problem. Valhalla can move Loper around the formation, use him as a runner or receiver, or place the offense entirely in his hands.

DEFENSE STILL UNTOUCHED

Valhalla’s 141 points will attract most of the attention, but the defense has produced an equally perfect result.

Not one point has been allowed through eight quarters.

Castle Park entered averaging nearly 240 rushing yards through its first two games. The Trojans’ ground-oriented approach was considered their best chance to shorten the game and keep Valhalla’s offense away from the football.

Instead, the Norsemen established control almost immediately.

Dysart’s seven tackles led a balanced defensive effort in which 15 Valhalla players recorded at least one stop. Codre, Rojo-Hernandez, Hypes and Shelton each made at least five tackles.

The defense also created another possession with Westry-Jones’ fumble recovery and affected the kicking game through Dysart’s block.

Valhalla has not merely prevented touchdowns. It has kept both opponents completely off the scoreboard while its offense and return units repeatedly supplied quick strikes.

THE RANKING QUESTION

Valhalla remains one of the county’s most difficult teams to evaluate.

Some media voters have placed the Norsemen among San Diego’s top 10 in the weekly published poll.

The computer ratings remain far more conservative, with MaxPreps listing Valhalla only 43rd in the San Diego Section entering its next game. Other computer model ratings also leave the Norsemen mostly near the middle of the county’s 87 rated teams.

The disagreement is understandable.

Computer models see two victories over limited opponents and little schedule strength from which to calculate Valhalla’s true level. Human observers see a deep and athletic roster that has scored 141 consecutive points without allowing one.

The truth will become clearer during Grossmont Valley League play.

Still, dismissing Valhalla’s performance entirely because of its opposition would ignore the magnitude of what the Norsemen are doing. Plenty of strong teams face weaker early-season opponents. Almost none average 70.5 points while producing consecutive shutouts.

Valhalla cannot control the strength of a schedule largely arranged before Carter and his rebuilt roster transformed the program.

The Norsemen can only control how they prepare and perform.

Thus far, they have left no doubt about either.

THE HIDDEN CHALLENGE

The potential danger is not complacency created by large victories. Carter and his staff can address effort, discipline and preparation every day.

The more difficult issue is the absence of genuine late-game situations.

Valhalla has not needed to protect a one-score lead, respond after falling behind, convert a critical fourth down or drive the length of the field with the game at stake.

Those situations cannot be completely recreated in practice.

At some point, the Norsemen are likely to encounter them—particularly against a Grossmont Valley League that has performed well during the opening weeks.

Santana and West Hills are each 3-0. El Capitan is only 1-2, but the Vaqueros remain one of the league’s more capable teams and have already endured stronger competition.

Valhalla’s responsibility is to continue sharpening its execution even when mistakes do not affect the outcome. A missed assignment that merely shortens a gain against Castle Park could become a drive-ending play against Santana or West Hills.

The Norsemen are not responsible for the scheduling imbalance. Their task is to ensure it does not become a competitive disadvantage later.

LOOKING AHEAD: MAR VISTA AT VALHALLA

Valhalla returns home Friday to face Mar Vista (2-1) at 7 p.m.

The Mariners should present a more credible challenge after defeating Calipatria, 44-14.

Quarterback Michael Mercado passed for 172 yards and four touchdowns in the victory. Waylan Shumate caught four passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns, scored on a 92-yard reverse and intercepted a pass on defense.

Jehiel Crawford added three receptions and two touchdowns.

Mar Vista averages 31.3 points and 268 yards per game. Mercado averages 144.3 passing yards, while Shumate averages 93.7 receiving yards and 42.3 rushing yards.

The Mariners also average 4.3 sacks defensively, providing at least one area capable of testing Valhalla’s protection.

Shumate will demand particular attention because of his ability to score as a receiver, runner or defender. He gives Mar Vista the kind of explosive individual threat that Valhalla did not encounter during its first two games.

Even so, the matchup again favors the Norsemen substantially.

Valhalla has greater depth, more offensive options and a defense that has yet to allow a point. The Norsemen have averaged 70.5 points compared with Mar Vista’s 31.3 and hold a significant advantage in total offensive production.

After Mar Vista, Valhalla is scheduled to visit Kearny. The Norsemen later face St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy, a Southern Section opponent added as an attempt to strengthen the nonleague schedule, although the Warriors have opened 0-2.

The schedule may continue giving Valhalla games that resemble exhibitions on the scoreboard, even though every result counts.

That does not make the work meaningless.

Every snap provides another opportunity to develop Wilson and Loper, find touches for Conley and Wright, expand the roles of Brown and Segovia, and establish the defensive standard that Hypes, Dysart, Codre and the Norsemen have maintained through two shutouts.

Eventually, someone will force Valhalla to play four consequential quarters.

Until then, the Norsemen must keep competing against their own standard—and against the temptation to believe that every Friday night will remain this easy.

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