CHICO — A plethora of injuries and a lethal screen game by the Spanish Springs offense gave the Pleasant Valley High football team its second loss of the season Friday at Asgard Yard, as the Vikings lost to the Cougars 48-21.
The loss isn’t something Vikings’ head coach Mark Cooley seemed too concerned with postgame, however, he did end his interview with, “It sucks to lose.”
“We’re in the same place we have been for 10 years. We’re 1-2, we’re playing some really good tough teams, and if you don’t play a perfect game against those teams, then you’re going to lose, and you’re going to lose big,” Cooley said. “We have too many penalties, it’s been two weeks in a row now with too many penalties, and there’s just too many mistakes across the board. At the same time, the kids battled and played hard the entire game… I’m not mad at the kids. We’ve been here before.”
The penalties started early in the game. The very first play from scrimmage was a 70-yard touchdown run on a sweep that was wiped out due to a block in the back.
“There were too many penalties and we’re playing against ourselves, so we have to give more effort,” said Owen Lee, one of PV’s captains. “As a collective there was a lot that went wrong in that game. I felt like that wasn’t our team.”
Pleasant Valley High’s Telo Plasencia brings down Spanish Springs running back Cooper Milligan (8) for a loss as quarterback Tyson McNeil (10) completes the handoff on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025 at Asgard Yard in Chico, California. (Ben Mota/All Axis Sports)
Pleasant Valley High’s James Stapp (19) dives to bring down Spanish Springs’ Memphis Ross (20) behind the line of scrimmage on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025 at Asgard Yard in Chico, California. (Ben Mota/All Axis Sports)
Pleasant Valley High quarterback Brayden Wynkoop (11) runs up the middle in the Vikings’ game against Nevada Union on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025 at Asgard Yard in Chico, California. (Ben Mota/All Axis Sports)
Pleasant Valley High’s Conner Witzel (21) runs the ball up the middle in the Vikings’ game against Nevada Union on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025 at Asgard Yard in Chico, California. (Ben Mota/All Axis Sports)
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Pleasant Valley High’s Telo Plasencia brings down Spanish Springs running back Cooper Milligan (8) for a loss as quarterback Tyson McNeil (10) completes the handoff on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025 at Asgard Yard in Chico, California. (Ben Mota/All Axis Sports)
On the sidelines late in the game Lee was adamant to his team not to be pointing fingers at anyone, and that Friday’s game was a team loss.
“They’re definitely a good team and sometimes you’ve got to tip your cap, but there’s definitely a lot more we could have improved on and I just wanted to make sure our team wasn’t pointing fingers at anyone or blaming the loss on anyone,” Lee said. “That was a team loss and we need to get better.”
Spanish Springs, which entering Friday had passed for 691 yards while rushing for just 391 under quarterback Tyson McNeil, was difficult for the PV defense to stop mixing up deep passes with a screen game the Vikings seemingly could not stop.
“We didn’t cover the screen (well) the entire week in practice,” Cooley said when asked about it postgame. “It started on Monday, and it never got any better. At the end of the game we finally got to it a little, but I was not surprised one bit.”
PV and Spanish Springs battled in the first half, as the game was tied 14-14 with 2 minutes and 46 seconds remaining until halftime. However the Cougars scored 14 unanswered points in the final two minutes until halftime and took a 28-14 lead, before outscoring the Vikings 20-7 in the second half.
The Cougars scored first with 1:20 left in the first quarter on a short pass for a TD, before PV running back Titus Andrus scored on the first play of the second quarter on a 2-yard rush for a TD to even the score at 7-7.
Spanish Springs quarterback McNeil completed a 6-yard pass to Brady Hummel for a TD with 6:58 left until halftime, before Andrus got his second rushing TD of the day. The Vikings drove 85 yards on nine plays over 4 minutes and 6 seconds, and capped the drive with a 1-yard TD by Andrus.
Spanish Springs scored on two plays on its next possession to take a 21-14 lead with 2:14 remaining until halftime. The Vikings drove down field and looked to be gaining momentum, but a pass from Brayden Wynkoop deflected off the hands of Noah Gois was was intercepted by Jayden Acosta at the Spanish Springs 35-yard line with 46 seconds remaining.
On the final play of the first half McNeil completed a 2-yard pass to Jackson Sundeen to give the Cougars the 28-14 lead.
The third quarter is when the Cougars truly ran away with the game, scoring 21 unanswered points. McNeil completed a screen pass for a 20-yard TD, before running for a TD and passing for another to give Spanish Springs a 48-14 lead after three quarters.
The Vikings’ got the only score of the fourth quarter with 9:10 remaining in the game when Wynkoop completed a 26-yard TD pass to Drew Van Nuys, as Van Nuys out-leaped the Spanish Springs defender.
PV (1-2) plays next at 7 p.m. Friday at home against Tracy, before hosting Cardinal Newman at 7 p.m. Sept. 26. Eastern Athletic League play begins at 7 p.m. Oct. 10 at Red Bluff, before the Almond Bowl against Chico High will be held at 7 p.m. Oct. 17 at PV.
Injuries
Despite scoring two rushing TDs, Cooley said Andrus was very sick all week and he toughed out the performance to score twice. Aside from illness, the Vikings had a large group of players coming to and from the trainer’s table. Unfortunately for PV it started early, with the first one being one of the two quarterbacks for the Vikings, Ryan Rothenberger. Rothenberger, a senior, was injured early in the first quarter on a non-contact play and remained on the sideline on the trainer’s table all game long. He came out of the second half in a knee brace.
Wide receiver/defensive back Ashton Benson came out of the game in the second half after defending a deep pass and appearing to land on his shoulder. Defensive end/tight end Gavin Myers had to come out of the game at one point, Keyaun McMillian came out and did not play most of the fourth quarter, just to name a few.
“Everyone that got injured tonight is a concern for me,” Cooley said.
When asked about season-ending injuries, Cooley didn’t seem too concerned.
“The only one I’m concerned about (season ending) is Rothenberger. I don’t know what his status is. Everyone else they’ve been battling injuries for three or four weeks, so it’s re-aggravating stuff. I don’t think it’s anything major. Will they be back next week? I don’t know. I don’t think so.”
Before the season Cooley mentioned one of the strengths of this team is its depth, and it will now be tested.
“When there’s injuries the other kids are going to start getting reps, a lot more reps than they normally get, and they’ve got to start playing hard,” Cooley said. “The good news is that we’ve got depth. I’m excited about that.”