By Justin Vigil-Zuniga and Tyler Wainfeld
Signal Sports Writers
Playoff spots are getting harder to come by heading into week eight of football in the Santa Clarita Valley.
Valencia and Hart high schools remain perfect in league play with one more game before the two face off next week. West Ranch, Canyon and Golden Valley high schools have all earned one win and can double that total heading into week eight while Saugus takes its bye.
Foothill League games will all be on Thursday this week as Yom Kippur begins at sundown on Friday.
Santa Clarita Christian School and Trinity Classical Academy both continue their perfect league campaigns in another week of football in the SCV.
Here’s a look at week eight:
Hart aiming for seventh-straight win, hosts Canyon
Hart (6-1, 3-0) has shown grit all season but showed that when it mattered most on Friday after blasting Castaic, 35-7, without quarterback Jacob Paisano and receiver Parker Maxwell.
Hawks sophomore Matix Frithsmith took over signal caller duties and has now started at quarterback, running back and receiver throughout his first varsity season.
Hart will need the same grit on Thursday against a tough Canyon team clawing to get back in the win column. The Cowboys were trampled by the Valencia Vikings last week, so look for Canyon to get back to its core and emphasize the run game.
The Cowboys will need another stout performance from the line and running backs Semaj Richardson and Keyshawn Wooten.
For Hart, it remains unclear if Paisano will be good to go for a short week. Frithsmith’s poise in the pocket will be tested yet again with a big Canyon pass rush, led by Evan Watts, who has racked up 7.5 sacks, looking to break open the game.
Hart returns to College of the Canyons, this time as the home team, on Thursday when the Hawks take on the Cowboys at 7 p.m.
Signal Staff Picks:
Justin Vigil-Zuniga (6-3): Hart stays hot. 31-17 Hawks.
Tyler Wainfeld (5-4): Hart keeps on rolling. 34-21 Hart.
Valencia seeking more success in league against Golden Valley
The Valencia Vikings (2-4, 2-0) have wasted no time in showing they may be the top team in the Foothill League for the second straight year.
After just two league games, the Vikings have put up 117 points and given up just 28. Hart has matched Valencia in league points scored, but the Hawks have needed three games to hit that mark.
Up next for Valencia is a home game on Thursday against the Golden Valley Grizzlies (5-1, 1-1), who beat Castaic last week after losing for the first time all year in the league opener the week prior to Hart.
The Vikings are 0-2 at home this year, but both games were against teams ranked in the top 100 in all of California by MaxPreps.
Stopping the Valencia offense has proven difficult for Foothill League teams as junior quarterback Brady Bretthauer and junior running back Brian Bonner have been near unstoppable thus far. Combined, the duo has had a part in 32 touchdowns this season.
Four Vikings have caught more than 10 passes this year, with Bonner and senior Nick Seymour both eclipsing 20 receptions each.
Golden Valley will be looking to keep its strong season going after being perfect in non-league play.
At the heart of the Grizzlies’ offense are senior quarterback Brandon Contreras and senior Jamison Torres, who has featured in both the run game and the pass game this year. Torres has run for nearly 800 yards and eight touchdowns and has caught 15 passes for 150 yards and two scores.
Three Grizzlies have caught more than 10 passes this year.
Valencia has never lost to Golden Valley.
Thursday’s game is set to kick off at 7 p.m. at Valencia High School.
Signal Staff Picks:
Justin Vigil-Zuniga: Valencia pass shines. 35-21 Valencia.
Tyler Wainfeld: Valencia stays perfect in league. 45-21 Valencia.
West Ranch faces Castaic
The Wildcats (3-3, 1-1) appear to be back on track after a 48-24 clobbering of Saugus last week.
West Ranch running back Luke DePerno nearly hit 300 yards on the ground on just 15 touches en route to four touchdowns.
Sophomore Blake Johnson took over quarterback duties for the Wildcats and played as if he’d been leading the team for years. Johnson rushed for a 23-yard score, his only TD of the game, and finished 16-for-25 with 167 passing yards.
Johnson and DePerno will now prepare for Castaic (2-5, 0-3), a team that has fallen short by one score in two of its three league losses.
The Coyote offense hit a speedbump last week but should be able to improve against a West Ranch defense that’s allowed 34 points per game in its past three outings. Castaic’s offensive front will have its hands full with junior defensive end Max Piccolino, who’s coming off a three-sack game against Saugus. The Castaic line will need some good pushes to give running back Monty Coleman space and quarterback Khanai Langford more time in the pocket.
Castaic has two takeaways in each of its past two games so look for the Coyotes to put some pressure on Johnson, who will likely start in his first varsity road game.
West Ranch and Castaic kick off on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Canyon High School.
Signal Staff Picks:
Justin Vigil-Zuniga: West Ranch run game keeps it going. 42-28 Cats.
Tyler Wainfeld: DePerno continues his assault on the Foothill League. 42-28 West Ranch.
SCCS hosts Lancaster Baptist
Santa Clarita Christian picked up a much-needed win on Saturday over the Chadwick Dolphins.
The Cards now head back into Heritage League play with their eyes on a repeat championship.
Next on the league schedule is a home matchup with the Lancaster Baptist Eagles, a team that has stumbled in the second half and one of its past two games. The Eagles were dropped by Faith Baptist on Friday, 65-41, after trailing 30-27 entering the fourth quarter. The week prior, Lancaster was dropped on the road at Lone Pine, after being outscored 16-8, in the fourth quarter and overtime.
SCCS will need to slow down Lancaster Baptist running back Marcos De Paula Rosa, who has rushed for 369 yards and five touchdowns on 8.6 yards per carry this season.
The Cardinals will need more star-studded performances from two-way standouts Cayden Rappleye, Jonathan Boelter, Eli Duhm and Caleb Shaffer to remain perfect in league play. The four were crucial in holding Chadwick to just one field goal on Saturday in a game in which the Dolphins were turned away on nine straight drives without points.
Duhm is hot off a two-touchdown game while Shaffer played a huge role in SCCS’ defensive dominance over Chadwick.
SCCS takes on Lancaster Baptist on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Canyon High School.
Trinity heads to Santa Rosa Academy
No one in the SCV has gotten off to a better start than the Knights.
Trinity (6-0, 1-0) still boasts a perfect record, with just 26 points allowed all season.
The Knights’ win over the Webb Schools Gauls featured school history as quarterback Noah Visconti broke the all-time passing yards record. Visconti’s 346 yards through the air on the day put him atop the record with 4,590 career passing yards.
Visconti and the Knights’ next mission comes on the road as Trinity heads to Menifee to face the Santa Rosa Academy Rangers (5-1, 1-0).
The Knights will need to slow down a hot Rangers team that has won five straight games while averaging nearly 50 points in each win. Santa Rosa relies on the run game and senior back Daniel Marlow, who has rushed for 699 yards and 17 touchdowns this season.
Trinity will look to keep the aerial attack going as Visconti has registered five or more passing touchdowns in four games this season. His top three targets have each made huge plays on seemingly every drive as John Carlson, Luke Backes and Andrew Carlson have tallied up over 320 receiving yards this season, led by John with 364 and nine touchdowns.
Knights defensive back Andrew Kelley has been a total ball-hawk with four picks already this season while teammate Corey Moberg has added three.
Someone’s win streak cools off on Friday when Trinity and Santa Rosa Academy kick off at 7 p.m.
