Hillmen paste River Valley, draw No. 4 seed in D-IV

Placer High School was on the road for the final week of the prep football regular season Friday night, as the Hillmen made the trek to Yuba City to take on River Valley High School in a clash between two teams on opposite ends of the Foothill Valley League standings. It didn't take the Hillmen long to build a comfortable lead, as they scored 34 points in the first quarter on the way to a 41-6 triumph to wrap up the regular season at 8-2. "There was no JV game before so it had that playoff feel where the varsity game was the only thing going on. We wanted to use it as a practice for the playoffs coming up," Placer coach Joey Montoya said. "We were up 34 first quarter started a running clock in the second quarter, I thought the guys, you know, answered the call and set the tone for the playoffs." Montoya said he was happy to see his team play well despite the rainy conditions and felt it was a complete game in all three phases. "It rained on us the entire game, which was another good preparation for the postseason because when you get to the playoffs, you're going to see some bad weather," Montoya said. "The starters were kind of limited because we had such a big lead in the first quarter. It was still fun to watch the guys come out and execute at a high level." Despite seeing limited action, Placer's starters made the most of their time on the field. Senior Baylor Kelley had three touchdown runs and 89 yards on just five carries. Shaun Jones had 59 yards and a touchdown on six carries. William Santamaria barreled into the end zone for a score as well. Alex Lopez added 60 yards on five carries. Rian Miller connected with Keefer Abs on a 40-yard touchdown pass, bringing his season total to 15. On defense, junior Brayden Wright led the team with seven total tackles, while Ivan De Silva added five. Placer was in the backfield all night with 10 tackles for loss. De Silva and Jayden Sheldon each led the Hillmen with two tackles for loss. Gage Esty and Justice Alba each picked up a sack and Kelley nabbed his fourth interception of the season. Joe White, John Petrovich and Parker Perez each recovered a fumble. Montoya said it was nice to see so many new names get into the mix and added the experience they picked up is crucial, especially heading into the playoffs. "It's great to develop our depth and to see what these up and comers can do," Montoya said. "We had some good execution and it was fun to watch. Most importantly, we came out of the game completely healthy and had no injuries and had smiles on everybody's face. That's what it's all about." The Hillmen enter the postseason firing on all cylinders, having outscored their last two opponents 93-6. In Sunday's selection show, Placer (8-2, 4-2 FVL) drew the No. 4 seed in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs for the second consecutive season. The Hillmen will face either No. 5 Escalon or No. 12 Fairfield in the quarterfinals Nov. 15 in Auburn.