Prior to kickoff at Canyon on Friday night, strong winds toppled over the Golden Valley inflatable the team runs through before each game.
It served as somewhat of a metaphor for the Grizzlies’ start to Foothill League play. They were out to an 0-2 start and things seemed upside down for a team loaded with superb athletes.
The Grizzlies gave a glimpse of what happens when the stars align with those athletes, blowing past Canyon for a 38-0 win.
“We knew we had this talent automatically,” said USC pledge DeGabriel Floyd, who threw and rushed for touchdowns. “We saw a lot of stuff from the Valencia game that we know we could do better with and we just executed to get that outcome.”
Following a scoreless first quarter, Golden Valley rattled off 28 points in the second quarter and needed just eight plays to do so.
“It just came down to putting the ball in our playmakers hands,” said Golden Valley coach Dan Kelley.
On Friday, those hands belonged to Floyd, Jalin Lewis, D.J. Turner and Ahvie Harris.
Lewis opened the second-quarter scoring spree with a 46-yard run off a jet sweep. Floyd picked up his first touchdown on a 20-yard run the next possession.
Floyd and Lewis then connected on a swing pass on the first play of the following drive as Lewis blew by the Cowboys defense up the sideline for a 70-yard score.
“That was beautiful,” Lewis said. “Ahvie Harris did a great job setting that up with a block and gave me that clear lane up the sideline.”
Lewis ended the day with four rushes for 80 yards along with the 70-yard catch. Harris went on to catch a 46-yard touchdown from Zack Chevalier to close out the 28-0 first-half run.
“They’ve got guys who can make those kinds of plays all over the field,” said Canyon coach Rich Gutierrez. “When all of them get going like tonight, you see what happens.”
The Cowboys (3-5, 0-3 Foothill League), who are the last winless team in Foothill League play, struggled to get anything going on the ground between the trio of quarterback Shawn Gallagher, Taylor Tepesano and Ryan Valdes.
Valdes led the group with 16 carries for 45 yards.
“This game is 90 percent mental and I don’t know if were completely there mentally those last two weeks,” Kelley said. “I’m proud of the week of practice we had and the way we responded.
The Grizzlies (4-4, 1-2) converted their seventh straight drive into a touchdown on their first possession of the second half as Turner joined the action with a 53-yard run. Turner finished with 131 yards on nine carries.
Carson Farber drilled his first field goal of the season – a 37-yarder – to close out the scoring early in the fourth quarter.
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