A shutdown defense and timely offense carried Golden Valley Grizzlies football to victory Friday night and moved them to 3-0 for the first time since 2019.
Golden Valley senior Jamison Torres was all over the field, recording an interception, 125 rushing yards and multiple tackles on defense as the Grizzlies beat Lancaster, 7-6, at Canyon High’s Harry Welch Stadium.
“In a tough game like that, I got to just do my part, you know, help where I can,” Torres said. “I had to play middle (linebacker) today, safety — I got to be all over the field, do what I can to win.”
Torres was the main threat on offense, carrying the ball 28 times, including 13 of the 23 plays the Grizzlies (3-0) ran in the first half.
But it was quarterback Brandon Contreras who got the Grizzlies out in front, finding junior tight end Anthony Baldoze beyond the Eagles (1-2) secondary for a 25-yard touchdown, the lone time the Grizzlies got into the end zone.
“When you run the ball the way we do, you got to account for everybody, and I guess they didn’t account for the tight end on the back side,” said Grizzlies head coach Dan Kelley.
Kelley called it a “team win,” likening it to when the Grizzlies came out 19-14 victors over Westlake in week one.
“Yes, Jamison Torres played one heck of a football game, but you got to think about all the other guys making tackles for loss, creating turnovers, playing great in the secondary, playing great on special teams,” Kelley said. “Just all around, a lot of highlights out there tonight.”
The key play that sealed the win for Golden Valley came after the Eagles managed to reach the end zone after a few no-huddle plays had the Grizzlies on their back foot. Running back Jacob Walker ran it from 10 yards out, but Grizzlies linebacker AJ Deronvil managed to make a stop on the 2-point try to keep the Grizzlies up by one.
Torres said it was the first game that Deronvil, who also recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter, has been in this year.
“He scraped down and he made a clutch tackle,” Torres said.
Golden Valley was in control for most of the game with the run game, mostly through Torres. But the Eagles were able to get stops on third down throughout the second half as the Grizzlies just couldn’t ice the game.
Torres fixed that on the first drive after the Lancaster touchdown, converting on third down with a 5-yard run before Contreras did the same on second down a couple plays later to put the game to bed.
“They find a way, and that shows a lot of character and a lot of experience and a group that’s driven and a group that pays attention at practice,” Kelley said. “There were a few first downs I wish we would have got, we had some miscues, some missed blocking assignments up front. We’ll work on that … We won the ball game. And that’s the bottom line.”
Contreras finished with 47 passing yards, completing 5 of his 10 attempts.
“In Brandon’s defense, the protection wasn’t solid tonight, and those are things that we watch film for,” Kelley said. “So tomorrow morning, back to the drawing board and we’ll figure these things out.”
Lancaster quarterback Jayson Wilson was under pressure throughout, completing just 4 of 13 passes for 19 yards. He missed on both of his attempts in the second half after exiting the game early in the half with an apparent injury but returning later on.
Walker had 24 carries for 101 yards and was the main threat throughout for the Eagles.
“They’re a run-heavy team, so we had to play strong in our gaps, do a lot of stuff we haven’t done all season,” Torres said.
Golden Valley will look to remain perfect next week when the Grizzlies head out to South Pasadena to face the Tigers (2-1), who beat Crescenta Valley on Friday, 29-23
“We got a big one next week against South Pasadena,” Kelley said. “They’re a good football program.”
Lancaster will stay in the Antelope Valley next week but travel to Palmdale (1-2) to take on the Falcons, who lost to Oak Hills on Friday, 56-6.
