SCV Football: Week 6 preview  

Castaic Coyote Monty Coleman (2) dodges numerous Cowboys before Andrew Ruiz (55) manages to stop him from traveling farther down the yard line during Friday night’s game. 092024 Katherine Quezada/The Signal
Castaic Coyote Monty Coleman (2) dodges numerous Cowboys before Andrew Ruiz (55) manages to stop him from traveling farther down the yard line during Friday night’s game. 092024 Katherine Quezada/The Signal
Share
Tweet
Email

By Justin Vigil-Zuniga and Tyler Wainfeld 

Signal Sports Writers 

More exciting Foothill League football lies ahead on Friday. 

West Ranch will open up league play with a tough first game while Valencia is on its bye week. 

Trinity will look to keep its undefeated season alive with its biggest test so far this season. 

Here’s a look at week six of football in the Santa Clarita Valley: 

Hart looks to keep momentum going against West Ranch 

After losing in the season opener, the Hart Hawks (4-1, 1-0) have been the steadiest Foothill League team this season. 

Winners of four straight, including a 34-14 win over Golden Valley to kick off Foothill League play last week, the Hawks take on the West Ranch Wildcats (2-2, 0-0) on Friday looking to keep the momentum going. 

Friday’s game will feature two of the more dynamic players in the league in Hart quarterback Jacob Paisano and West Ranch running back Luke DePerno. 

A junior, Paisano has thrown for 1,203 yards, completing nearly 63% of his passes. He has nine touchdowns against just three interceptions and has added five scores on the ground. 

Hart senior receiver Parker Maxwell will likely be leaned on by Paisano after recording 625 yards on 37 catches with six touchdowns thus far. Sophomore Matix Frithsmith has also emerged as a threat in the secondary. 

DePerno has been a senior leader for the Wildcats all year, rushing for 456 yards and four touchdowns. 

The Wildcats have been stifled offensively at times this year. They’ve averaged 21 points per game but that has been carried by 71 combined coming in their two wins. 

Friday’s game is set to kick off at 7 p.m. at Canyon High School. 

Signal Staff Picks: 

Justin Vigil-Zuniga: Hawks defense wins a tight one. Hart 21-14. 

Tyler Wainfeld: Hart keeps the momentum going. 31-21 Hart. 

Golden Valley and Castaic both searching for rebound 

The Grizzlies saw their four-game win streak snapped last week at the talons of the Hawks. 

Now Golden Valley is on to Castaic, another tough opponent also looking for a rebound after a nailbiter 1-point loss to Canyon. 

The Grizzlies will look to regroup after averaging under 4 yards per carry on the ground while throwing four picks through the air. Senior Jordan Flores was a big plus for Golden Valley, as he exited week five with a season-high 87 receiving yards on just four catches. 

Golden Valley will need to zero in on Castaic running back Monty Coleman, who hammered Canyon last week with over 200 all-purpose yards and a hat trick of TDs. The Coyotes still rely heavily on the pass, so the Grizzlies will also need eyes on receiver Logan Mietzner, who had nine receptions for 69 yards in the loss to Canyon. 

One team will get back in the win column while the other lies in danger of hitting 0-2 in league play.  

Castaic and Golden Valley kick off on Friday at 7 p.m. at Valencia High School. 

Justin Vigil-Zuniga: Coyote defense shows out. 28-14 Castaic. 

Tyler Wainfeld: Castaic’s balanced offense leads the Coyotes to victory. 28-21 Castaic. 

Canyon seeks third straight win, faces Saugus 

Canyon enters week six coming off a huge win over the Castaic Coyotes, for the Cowboys’ second win a row. Saugus enters in a polar opposite situation after a second-half collapse against Valencia. 

Saugus couldn’t stop Valencia running back Brian Bonner and will now have another tough assignment with Canyon’s ground-and-pound game. Cowboys’ sophomore Semaj Richardson is hot off a 145-yard rushing performance, while running back Keyshawn Wooten also added 75 yards on just 10 carries. 

The Centurion offense moved the ball steadily last week but came away with just 21 points. Saugus quarterback Jake Nuttall completed 10 passes for over 200 yards passing and a trio of touchdowns with sophomore receiver Landon Lattimore reeling in two of the scores. 

Look for Saugus to be pass-heavy with Nuttall after Castaic’s quarterbacks combined for a .735 completion percentage with nearly 250 yards through the air and no turnovers. Canyon will answer with its ground game, which averaged over 7 yards per rush last week. 

Saugus and Canyon renew their rivalry on Friday at 7 p.m. at College of the Canyons. 

Signal Staff Picks: 

Justin Vigil-Zuniga: Canyon wins shootout. 42-35 

Tyler Wainfeld: Canyon’s run game proves too much. 34-28 Canyon. 

Trinity welcomes fellow-undefeated Nordhoff 

The Knights will end their non-league journey with their biggest test so far in the Nordhoff Rangers. 

Nordhoff buried Beverly Hills, 40-7, last Friday with Nordhoff running back Jameson Moya rushing for over 150 yards and a pair of TDs. Rangers quarterback Weston Haley threw just nine passes, completing seven of them for 151 yards and three touchdowns. 

Knights signal caller Noah Visconti also threw for over 150 yards, in a shortened game, with three touchdowns that helped put away Morningside. The Knights collectively ran the ball efficiently to say the least with the team averaging over 9 yards a rush. 

The two 4-0 teams will clash all over the field with standouts at nearly every position.  

One team’s undefeated season ends on Thursday night when Trinity hosts Nordhoff at 7:30 p.m. at COC. 

SCCS ferries over to Avalon 

The Cardinals are in for another lengthy journey on Friday.  

A week after caravanning up to Fresno, Santa Clarita Christian will ferry to its next opponent, the Avalon Lancers of Catalina Island. 

Avalon enters the week on a three-game losing streak but has played a tough preseason schedule on its way to 1-3. Both the Lancers and Cardinals will get a big test on Friday before heading into the second half of their seasons. 

The Lancers will need to slow a Cards’ run game that is averaging just under 200 yards a game. Dual-threat quarterback Cayden Rappleye has led the scoring with eight touchdowns on the ground and another six through the air, while SCCS running back Jonathan Boelter has racked up 297 yards and three scores, despite playing in just one full game. 

Rappleye and two-way standout Eli Duhm both exited Friday’s eventual loss at Fresno Christian due to injuries but coach Austin Fry says his stars are good to go for Avalon. 

The Cardinal defense will be tested but is feeling confident heading to Catalina, with eight takeaways and 14.5 sacks, five of them coming from senior Caleb Shaffer. 

SCCS and Avalon will fight to get back in the win column on Friday at 3:30 p.m.  

Related To This Story

Latest NEWS