Pioneer Valley coach Greg Dickinson was not with his team on Friday, taking a rare chance to see his son - a senior linebacker for Nipomo - play against Santa Ynez.

Turns out, he still got to give his Panthers a good piece of news when the night was complete.

Pioneer Valley built a large halftime lead and never looked back on Friday, running through rival Santa Maria 56-7. Coupled with Santa Ynez' loss to Nipomo, Pioneer Valley now has an excellent shot at making the playoffs.

Currently, Pioneer Valley is the sole owner of fourth place in the Los Padres League, with one week to determine how the final standings shakeup. However, Pioneer Valley completed its regular season on Friday knowing four teams from the LPL advance into the CIF playoffs.

The Panthers sure did their part to stake a claim on the final playoff spot, scoring 21 unanswered points in the first quarter.

“They stopped us on the first couple plays, so we wanted to spread it out,” Pioneer Valley coach Dan Ellington said of his offensive plan.

On the third play of the game, they spread it out alright.

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Quarterback Peter Renteria connected with wide receiver Diego DeMiranda on a fade route for a 60-yard gain. Running back Andrew Gonzales ran the pigskin into the endzone from 3 yards out for the first touchdown of the game. Gonzales has been Pioneer Valley's goal-line specialist this season, having scored five touchdowns on just 14 carries.

It would not be the last quick Pioneer Valley score. The defense did its job, as it did the entire half, never allowing a Saints' first-down. On the next possession, it was quarterback Nick Rucobo's turn.

Rucobo and Renteria traded off quarterback duties every other drive.

“It's like having a fastball and a changeup,” Ellington said of his differing play-callers.

While Renteria did the early damage through the air, Rucobo set up the Panther's rushing attack - and did a lot of that ground damage himself.

“They were calling the right plays knowing I can run,” Rucobo said.

The rivalry win was even sweeter for Rucobo, who just this year transferred from Santa Maria to join his senior brother Steven Rucobo - a talented defensive back - on Pioneer Valley.

Nick Rucobo orchestrated a 10-play drive that was capped on William Bruce's 15-yard touchdown run. Bruce also ran in the 2-point conversion to make up for the earlier missed kick - Pioneer Valley now led 14-0.

The third score came a lot easier.

Renteria re-entered the game for one play. That play was a 65-yard touchdown to DeMiranda.

“We tried an underneath on the corner and Diego made a nice move after the catch,” Ellington said.

Suddenly, DeMiranda had a complete-game effort in the first half - his final line reading two catches for 125 yards.

The second quarter was much of the same - except the damage was done on the ground. Gonzales showed he's a dual offensive-defensive threat when he blocked the Santa Maria punt attempt to open the second quarter. One play later and Dan Ando had himself a 4-yard touchdown - Pioneer Valley had itself a 28-0 lead.

On Renteria's turn to run the offense on the next possession, he connected with Ando for a 10-yard swing pass. Then, three straight rushes, once again, put the Panthers in the endzone. Josiah Morales scored on a run from 16 yards out.

It seemed Pioneer Valley would keep a 42-0 lead at halftime after Ando scored again at the 2:37 mark - this one coming from 12 yards out.

However, there was still enough time for Santa Maria to make a spectacular defensive play before halftime.

After another botched Santa Maria punt, Pioneer Valley appeared to be in business at the Saints' 24-yard line. On the next play, there was a fumble. Santa Maria's Edgar Uriarte returned the fumble 76 yards for what became the Saints' only touchdown.

Pioneer Valley, as it has done all season, continued to shuffle running backs in and out during the second half.

“The offensive line made it really easy for those guys,” Ellington said.

Philip Garcia certainly was one of “those guys.” He scored the second-to-last Panther's touchdown on a 9-yard run and finished the night with a team-high 117 rushing yards. Ando finished with 69 on 10 carries. Bruce finished with 60 on five carries and Nick Rucobo 46 on nine.

Nick Rucobo scored the final Panthers' touchdown on a 3-yard run.

November 3, 2007