The Valley Central flag football team had done something nobody else had done all season.

They kept the Pine Bush Bushmen to under 20 points.

It didn’t matter.

For as good as the Vikings defense was, the Bushmen’s was better in a 7-0 league win at Pine Bush High School on Wednesday to finish the regular season.

“We really needed this,” Pine Bush safety and quarterback Jah-esa Stokes said. “We’re used to playing around and blowing out teams, but this is going to get us prepared for our playoff games, which means we really needed this for the last game of the season.”

The win was the Bushmen’s eighth straight after they opened the season with a 21-19 loss to the Minisink Valley Warriors on April 5. After getting their first win of the season – a 20-18 win over Warwick on April 15 – the Bushmen won the next six games by an average of about 29 points.

“It’s been good,” Stokes said. “It’s really surprising that we’re one of the best teams doing this right now. It feels good, and I can’t wait for next year to have more girls.”

For as good as the Bushmen have been, Vikings have been right there with them in third place in Division I with a 6-2 conference record. They won their first four games, including a non-league win over the Warwick Wildcats, before suffering a 32-0 loss to Minisink Valley.

They finished the regular season with a 25-19 over the Wildcats to finish the season with an 8-3 record.

“I’m happy to be in the playoffs and happy to be near the top of the rankings,” Valley Central coach Isaiah Wilson said. “This is football in the spring. This is awesome, and I love watching football, and coaching football. So, it’s great that our team is here and we’re winning and we’re giving something for our community to be proud of.”

The Vikings, however, couldn’t generate much offense against the Bushmen. Neither team could, until early in the second half.

After a scoreless first half, Stokes connected with Tia Fisher for a touchdown pass, giving the Bushmen a 6-0 lead with 20:54 left in the game. Stokes then hit Annaliesa Elor for the extra point to extend the lead to 7-0.

“It really pumped us up,” Stokes said. “Once we score, our confidence and energy goes all the way up.”

The energy, from there, went straight to the defense, which kept Vikings off the board. They didn’t even threaten until they got the ball with just a few minutes left in the game.

The Bushmen had the Vikings in a fourth-down situation, until Bianca Ricciuto hit (No. 6) on a key first-down pass to the Pine Bush 35-yard line. The Vikings got down to the Pine Bush 10-yard line before an incomplete pass turned the ball over to the Bushmen to run out the clock.

“We’re doing pretty good,” Pine Bush coach Kyle Schneider said. “We’re getting solid in our positions. We’re switching some of our positions in and out to see what the girls can give us.”