The football season officially began on Friday night for five of the seven Santa Clarita Valley teams, and the results couldn’t have been more varied.
Of the four Foothill League teams in action, West Ranch had the highest-scoring output, defeating Nordhoff 55-14 in a home contest.
With the win, West Ranch moved up in the CIF-Southern Section rankings released on Monday, and are now in the No. 7 spot in Division 7. The Wildcats face Granada Hills Charter at home this Friday, the team Saugus opened the season against.
The Centurions were the other Foothill League team to start the season with a win, defeating the Highlanders on the road 36-0.
Of the 15 Division 5 teams that played this past weekend, Saugus recorded the fourth-highest scoring total and was one of three teams in the division to earn a shutout victory. Though not ranked in the CIF-SS polls, a road win against Agoura this Friday would likely vault the Cents into the rankings.
Hart started the season with a long road trip to face Carlsbad, losing 42-14. The Indians fell out of the top 10 in the CIF-SS Division 4 rankings, though they are still listed in the “others” category.
The Indians will look to rebound against Muir this week, a team that won its opener 26-6 against Western.
Canyon struggled in its first game of the season, falling to Crespi 37-3. The Cowboys trailed 30-0 at halftime and could only manage a 38-yard field goal from Jarrett Reeser in the fourth quarter.
The Cowboys will try to get into the win column against San Fernando on the road on Friday.
Trinity Classical Academy started its season with a 64-12 shellacking of Desert Christian Academy, setting several school records in the process.
The Knights set the record for most passing yards in a game with 383, the most all-purpose yards with 634 and total yards in a game with 481.
In the latest CIF-SS poll, the Knights moved up a spot to No. 5 in Division 14.
Burgin busts out
West Ranch running back Reiger Burgin carried the ball 23 times for 80 yards in five games as a junior last season for the Wildcats.
In Friday’s opening game against Nordhoff, the senior compiled 162 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 20 rushing attempts, an average of 8.1 yards per carry.
Knights skill players know no bounds
Trinity put up impressive offensive numbers in its 64-12 rout of Desert Christian Academy. Senior quarterback Rick Roberts threw for 316 yards and four touchdowns, completing 14-of-18 passes for a quarterback rating of 158.6. Roberts also rushed for 14 yards and a touchdown.
Four Trinity receivers combined for 347 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Sophomore AJ Horning led the Knights with five catches for 200 yards and four scores. Senior Kyle Fields had five catches for 82 yards and two scores. Junior Zach Ball caught one pass for 12 yards and sophomore Lucas Mendoza had three receptions for 53 yards.
Saugus opens in style
Saugus won its season opener for the fifth year in a row, and the 36-0 victory over Granada Hills Charter on Friday night marked the second consecutive year the Centurions started the season with a shutout. Last year, Saugus defeated Taft 63-0.
The Centurions held the Highlanders to 0 passing yards, a feat they’ve now accomplished two years in a row in their season openers. As a matter of fact, Taft actually finished with -3 passing yards against Saugus last year.
