Valencia preparing for ‘Madness’
Prep hoops: Second annual fanfest for boys and girls teams to be held Saturday
The Valencia boys and girls basketball teams are holding the second annual “Midnight Madness” fanfest on Saturday at Valencia High School from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The event serves as a kickoff for both the Vikings teams’ seasons and will feature myriad events, including scrimmages and drill demonstrations by both the boys and girls teams.
“This year (we added) drills to give parents a view of what we do in practice to try and get better every day,” said first-year girls coach Kevin Honaker, “and then certainly for the community to see another strong Valencia team on both sides, so hopefully we get some support and love from the community.”
There will be plenty of opportunities for crowd involvement with 3-point and slam dunk contests. Additionally, fans will have the chance to win Laker tickets, golf foursomes, LeBron James and Steph Curry jerseys in addition to a 50/50 raffle.
The Valencia dance, hiphop and cheer teams will provide entertainment and Chronic Tacos will provide food.
Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students with ID.
Honaker said that his players are eager to get the season underway, starting with Saturday’s “Midnight Madness.”
“I think they’re extremely excited,” said the coach. “The nerves will be flowing really good that night. Hopefully, it gets out of our system for our first game, but I think they’re definitely excited and its very much in the learning stage for them for what we’re trying to do and they’ve done extremely well and I’m excited about it for sure.”
The Valencia girls team begins its season on Nov. 13 at home against Pacifica of Oxnard, while the boys start on Dec. 3 at Campbell Hall.
Currently two seasons removed from a CIF-Southern Section Division 1AA championship, the Vikings girls team finished second in the
Foothill League last season behind Canyon with an 8-2 record. The team will return a group of underclassmen that gained valuable experience from last year’s season that ended in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs.
“They might be young, but they’re still veterans,” Honaker said, “So hopefully they’re ready again.”
In its most recent season, the Valencia boys team finished third in the Foothill League behind league champions Hart and second-place Saugus.
The Vikings will be without Dexter Akanno, Zach Hawkins, Ben Grant and Lake Ballard, who graduated after the 2017-18 season, but return 6-foot7 Jayden Trower and 6-foot-6 Josh Assiff in addition to a plethora of other players filled with potential.
Santa Clarita Valley basketball fans will have the chance to see some of that potential unfold on Saturday in the Valencia gym.