The preparation for a week zero game is different from any game in preleague or league play.
It’s hard to single out opposing players in film, because they’re all wearing practice jerseys. It’s difficult to have expectations for a team, since there is no game from the previous week to base predictions off of.
But Golden Valley coach Dan Kelley was able to single out a few things about Highland of Palmdale, which the Grizzlies will face on Friday at Canyon High at 7 p.m.
“They’ve got good speed at wide receiver and defensive back,” he said. “They’re big up front.
We’ve got to be ready to counter that. I think early on in the season, the team that’s better prepared will be successful early.”
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There are a few question marks for Golden Valley, and it begins at the quarterback position.
Juniors Logan Morrison, Zach Chevalier and Gary Rowe have been competing throughout the summer for the starting job and the coaching staff has yet to pick the primary signal-caller.
Kelley said that all three will see playing time against the Bulldogs.
“I think that’s what preseason is all about,” he said. “It’s trying new things and trying things with personnel and strategies. You still want to win, but your main focus is getting better for league. But at the same time every game counts.”
Junior defensive back DeGabriel Floyd will make his GV debut on Friday night. Floyd, who transferred in from Hawkins High of Los Angeles, was initially ruled ineligible for 18 months by the CIF Los Angeles City Section for what it determined was a violation of one of the “transfer rules” when he played at Hawkins. As a result, he was ineligible in the CIF Southern Section as well.
However, City Section Commissioner John Aguirre told The Signal on Thursday that Floyd had been cleared by the City Section this week. The Southern Section updated Floyd’s status in its transfer database to eligible on Thursday.
“We’re not going to let hang-ups distract us,” Kelley said before Floyd was ruled eligible. “And that’s not something that’s brought up in the team meetings. … All the coaches and the players know what’s going on, and again, we’re confident in the process and we’re just awaiting it all to come through.”
