Komets can’t stop Norsemen streak

2026 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL

No. 23 VALHALLA 49, KEARNY 0

By Ramon Scott
EastCountySports.com

SAN DIEGO — Valhalla had to listen to all the talk all week about the forfeit loss of two on-the-field victories. Kearny spent Friday night dealing with how much talent the Norsemen truly have.

Sophomore Camryn Conley scored three touchdowns, junior quarterback Adrian Wilson threw for two scores and ran for another, and Valhalla overwhelmed the Komets, 49-0, in its first game since two season-opening victories were overturned by forfeits.

The Norsemen evened their official record at 2-2. Their four performances on the field have produced an aggregate score of 246-6.

That distinction will remain part of Valhalla’s season while the school pursues an appeal of the eligibility ruling. Friday supplied another reminder that the record alone offers an incomplete picture of coach Jason Carter’s team.

Conley caught five passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns, adding 34 yards and another score on six carries. He accounted for five of Wilson’s six completions and finished with 126 yards from scrimmage, giving the Norsemen a threat Kearny could not contain through the air or on the ground.

Wilson completed 6 of 14 passes for 130 yards and added 38 rushing yards on three attempts. His ability to make plays with his legs complemented the downfield opportunities Valhalla repeatedly found along the right side.

One of those connections was a 27-yard touchdown pass to Conley, who slipped behind the defense. The sophomore’s three-score performance demonstrated the range of an offense that had leaned on senior Jayden Hunter’s five rushing touchdowns against Mar Vista a week earlier.

Hunter remained productive at Kearny, carrying seven times for 47 yards in the posted statistics. Freshman Deven Segovia added 24 yards on five attempts, while freshman receiver A.J. Wright supplied another long completion.

Valhalla had established control well before the later offensive contributions.

Hunter finished the opening possession with a short touchdown run. When Kearny’s offense went backward and then mishandled a snap, junior Amare Young recovered the loose ball and returned it for a touchdown of five yards.

The Norsemen were generating points without requiring their offense to handle every possession. Kearny, meanwhile, never established enough momentum to make the game competitive.

Sophomore Gideon Hypes was credited with 14 tackles, helping Valhalla record its third on-field shutout in four games. The Komets fell to 0-4.

Young’s scoring play gave the defense a visible highlight, but the broader accomplishment has been its consistency. A touchdown by Mar Vista remains the only score Valhalla has allowed in four games played.

The Norsemen opened with on-field results of 75-0 over San Jacinto Valley Academy and 66-0 over Castle Park, then defeated Mar Vista, 56-6, before Friday’s shutout.

The first two results now count as losses because of the eligibility ruling. The latter two have produced a combined 105-6 margin and restored Valhalla to .500 in the official standings.

The schedule remains a necessary qualification. Valhalla has overwhelmed its opponents, but this stretch has supplied few opportunities to assess how the Norsemen will respond to sustained pressure or a close fourth quarter.

Still, the production is coming from several places. Hunter supplies an experienced running threat. Conley can finish possessions as a runner or receiver. Wright gives Wilson another downfield target, and the defense has both prevented points and created them.

The eligibility dispute leaves questions about the standings. Friday left little doubt that Valhalla still has plenty of football talent available.

Appeal keeps opening results in dispute

Valhalla is pursuing an appeal after being required to forfeit its first two victories for using an ineligible player.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that a school spokesperson said Valhalla had been informed the athlete was cleared before later being told he was ineligible. The school’s position makes the handling of that clearance central to the dispute. Reporting this week on a local webcast, Union-Tribune prep beat reporter John Maffei confirmed that Valhalla High is appealing the ruling.

The forfeits remain reflected in Valhalla’s 2-2 official record. Its four on-field results and statistical production should be described separately from those standings while the matter remains unresolved.

Four games, 246 points—and only six allowed

Valhalla’s most striking statistic requires no complicated calculation: opponents have scored once in four games.

The Norsemen have scored 246 points, allowed six and produced three shutouts on the field. That works out to 61.5 points scored per game, 1.5 allowed and an average margin of 60 points.

Those totals include the games against San Jacinto Valley Academy and Castle Park that were subsequently forfeited. They describe what happened during play, rather than replacing Valhalla’s official 2-2 record.

The posted season statistics also illustrate how widely the offensive work has been distributed.

Conley is also credited with 135 kickoff-return yards and 504 all-purpose yards, an average of 126 per game. His contributions have extended well beyond a conventional running-back workload.

Wilson and Loper’s combined passing line is 33 completions in 60 attempts for 732 yards, 12 touchdowns and no interceptions. Wright and Conley together account for 548 receiving yards in the posted individual totals.

Hypes leads the posted season defensive totals with 33 tackles. Valhalla is credited with 32 tackles for loss and nine sacks.

The level of opposition provides context for those numbers. The Norsemen have yet to face the kind of consistent resistance that would establish their ceiling. What they have shown is the ability to turn favorable matchups into decisive results, with major contributions from players who will remain in the program beyond this season.

Different section, another favorable matchup

Valhalla travels to St. Pius X–St. Matthias Academy in Downey on Friday, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m., moving outside the San Diego Section for its next nonleague game.

The Warriors are 0-4 and have been outscored 188-39, with averages of 47 points allowed and 9.8 scored. The matchup’s computer rankings also place Valhalla comfortably ahead, making another substantial Norsemen victory a reasonable expectation.

For St. Pius X–St. Matthias, the immediate challenge will be preventing Valhalla’s ground game from setting up the same downfield opportunities Wilson and Conley found at Kearny. For the Norsemen, the trip offers another chance to develop their young contributors and sharpen their execution before league play.

Valhalla is scheduled to open its Grossmont Valley League schedule at home against Monte Vista on Oct. 2. The league schedule should offer a more useful measure of how this explosive opening month translates against familiar opponents.

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