BENICIA HIGH’S varsity football team can wrap up its third straight SCAC championship with a victory at Fairfield on Friday night.

Everything is on the line Friday night for Benicia High’s varsity football team when the Panthers take on the host Fairfield Falcons in the regular season finale.

A Panthers victory would give them an automatic berth into the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs and an expected share of the Solano County Athletic Conference championship. A Panthers loss and their season likely comes to an end.

“It’s pretty simple,” Benicia head coach Craig Holden said of Friday’s crucial game.

Benicia, American Canyon and Vanden are each 3-1 in SCAC play heading into their respective regular-season finales, and all three are expected to win Friday. Should that happen, the three teams would finish in a three-way tie for first place for a second consecutive season, with American Canyon and Benicia each getting automatic bids into the 2016 SJS playoffs.

A Panthers victory Friday would clinch their third straight league championship, something Benicia hasn’t done since 1948-50.

“It’s exciting for the program and exciting for the kids,” Holden said. “They’ve worked hard to get this far and it’s not an easy thing. League championships, no matter how you get ‘em, are still hard to get and still fun to get.”

The Panthers have won three straight games thanks to a hard-nosed defense and a blossoming running attack. Benicia’s defense forced four turnovers in last week’s win over Bethel and has come up with several big stops at big moments during the winning streak. Senior running back Shevvy Franklin has rushed for 515 yards in the past two games, including a season-best 172 last week.

“We’re doing things the right way and it’s refreshing for everyone in the program,” Holden said. “We’re minimizing the stupid mistakes that cost us in the past. When we can throw and run and the opposing defense isn’t dictating anything to us, we’ll be successful.”

Even more remarkable is the fact Benicia (5-4 overall) has been shorthanded during its winning streak, with at least four starters out in each game due to illness or injury.

“Our kids have done a good job even with a lot of starters down,” Holden noted. “It’s ‘the next man’ philosophy. Everyone goes through practice and drills and has been taught what to do. When someone else can’t play, people have to be ready to go in and step up and that’s been happening for us. They just keep going.”

Fairfield’s football program has won only four conference games since rejoining the SCAC in 2012. The Falcons (1-8, 1-3 SCAC) won at Vallejo, 32-28, two weeks ago but have been shut out four times this season and haven’t scored more than 14 points in any of their eight losses. The Falcons are averaging only 9.3 points per game and are allowing 39 points per game (40 in SCAC play).

History is also in Benicia’s favor. The Panthers have beaten Fairfield in all four meetings since 2012 by an average score of 46-7, including a 49-21 victory in Fairfield last year.

But the Panthers realize they haven’t won anything yet. To get that historic third-straight league championship and to extend their season, they have to take care of business on the field Friday.

“No one expects Fairfield to beat us but then nobody expected us to beat Vanden,” Holden said. “No one’s handing us the trophy. We know if we lose Friday, we probably won’t make the playoffs, so we have to execute and play well.”

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