Butte Upsets Diablo Valley In Vikings Home Opener

13th-ranked Diablo Valley fell to 19th-ranked Butte College on Friday night in the Vikings' first home game of the season. DVC came into the game with a win under their belt against Fresno City while Butte saw defeat against Sequoias.

A hard-fought game was born right in the first quarter as DVC received the ball from the kick-off and initiated a five-play drive before punting.

Diablo Valley quarterback Joey Aguilar was finding a decent amount of rhythm but the Butte defense only allowed a total of 12 yards in the opening drive.

Butte College wasted no time getting on the board. Butte quarterback Tanner Hughes showed off his dual-threat abilities as he rushed for 11 yards in the first play, inspiring a 51-yard drive that was topped off with a ten-yard passing touchdown from Hughes to Jailen Hammer. It was 7-0 for Butte after the extra point.

In the second quarter, DVC massively improved their following drive, even if it ended in another punt. The Vikings' defense got to show off their skills too as they stopped Butte after just three plays, allowing Aguilar to lead his offense once again. This time, the drive ended with a five-yard rushing touchdown from Eric Hunter to make DVC level on touchdowns with Ray Vallee securing the extra point. 7-7. 

However, it wasn't much after this that Tanner Hughes ran a couple of successful first-down runs, making Butte's field position very favorable for taking the lead once again. After some pass interference penalties on DVC's side, Butte was once again seven points up on the home side. 

As the third quarter rolled around, there was still a lot of hope that the Vikings could produce the threat that they were able to produce against Fresno City, but Butte receiving the second-half kickoff was a massive blow to Diablo Valley.

A total of 56 yards in six plays is what it took to slice DVC's defense in half and make it 21-7 for Butte, owing to the rushing success of Christian Vaughn and Deremy Stubbs. 

There were plenty of things for Diablo Valley to be proud of in the game- particularly in the third quarter in the drive right after Butte widened the gap. In a first and ten play on Butte's 36, Joey Aguilar threw a dime to DJ McPherson for 36 yards, ensuring the touchdown and ensuring a chance for the tie after the extra point.

Unfortunately for the Vikings, the fighting spirit of their players simply wasn't enough to overpower Butte. After some back-and-forth play, it was a rushing touchdown from Tanner Hughes in the fourth quarter that put the game to bed.

It was a valiant effort from the Vikings to make something out of nothing, but with a 28-14 score against them, there was not much left to do. The Vikings go back to the drawing board ahead of their next matchup, which will be at Shasta College.

--Abel Anguiano