BALDWIN PARK — Northview posted its fourth shutout of the season to wrap up the Valle Vista League title outright on Thursday, beating Baldwin Park 28-0 behind Keanu Tauvao’s 167 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

The Vikings finished the regular season 10-0 overall for the first time since 2018, which was a season they finished 12-1 and advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division 7 semifinals.

While the Vikings will certainly enjoy their season, they know what likely comes next. Some projections have the Vikings likely landing in the Division 4 playoffs, a division that might also include a traditional powerhouse like Long Beach Poly and others like Charter Oak or St. Paul.

The CIF-SS places teams in divisions at the end of the regular season based on their rankings by Calpreps. With Northview ranked No. 52 in Calpreps’ Southern Section rankings, Division 4 looks like a strong possibility.

The playoff pairings will be released on Sunday. Northview lost in the first round of the Division 5 playoffs last season to Bonita.

“We’re excited to get in the playoffs and see where they put us,” Northview coach Marcel Perez said. “We know it’s going to be tough, but our guys finished the season 10-0, that’s a great season.”

Northview (5-0 league) knows it still needs to play cleaner. The Vikings wanted to get quarterback Erik Jimenez going, but he completed only 7 of 12 passes for 56 yards.

The Vikings led 14-0 at half, and physically the Braves stood up to them in stretches.

“We have to get better and we have to play smarter,” Perez said. “We have to watch the mental stuff, and things like not getting stupid penalties. Sometimes it takes a while to learn these things and obviously in Week 10 we still haven’t learned these things.”

Baldwin Park (5-5, 3-2) had already locked up third place in the Valle Vista League and had a chance to share the league title with a win. But the Braves proved to themselves they could compete with a team like the Vikings.

After Tauvao gave the Vikings a 7-0 lead witha 3-yard touchdown run, the Braves had a chance to tie the score near the end of the first quarter, getting to the 3-yard line. But penalties and a sack took them out of scoring range.

Braves quarterback Jake Garcia threw for 115 yards, but he also had two interceptions and a fumble.

Baldwin Park, which looks like it will be in the Division 10 or 11 playoffs, has a lot to feel good about despite the loss.

“I’m proud of my boys,” Baldwin Park coach Robert Maxie said. “This was a game we knew we could compete in and we could win. We’re physical, we’re athletic and we let mistakes get in the way. We’re good, we’re at where we’re at, and we’re looking forward to the rest of our season.

“Winning the Valle Vista was a goal but we still have an opportunity to achieve our ultimate goal which is to go win a championship.”

Northview doubled its lead midway through the second quarter with Tauvao pounding it in from 9 yards for a 14-0 lead.