By Justin Vigil-Zuniga & Tyler Wainfeld
Signal Sports Writers
It all comes down to this.
Every Foothill League matchup has playoff seeding on the line and could make or break the season of at least three local teams heading into the postseason.
Valencia needs a win to complete its second straight perfect Foothill League campaign, which would also secure the outright title.
Hart can seal the two-seed with a win while Golden Valley could potentially sneak in and finish silver.
Both local private school teams can also secure perfect league records in what’s looking like a wild final week of high school football.
Here’s a look inside Week 11:
Valencia out for second straight perfect league campaign
After a rough non-league schedule that saw them go winless, the Valencia Vikings can clinch a second consecutive undefeated Foothill League campaign on Friday.
All that remains for Valencia (5-4, 5-0) is a home game against the West Ranch Wildcats (4-5, 2-3), who shocked Canyon last week with a last-second touchdown to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The Vikings bested Castaic last week to earn at least a share of the league title.
West Ranch played without star senior running back Luke DePerno last week after he suffered an apparent shoulder injury on the first drive of the game. Wildcats head coach Chris Varner said whether he plays on Friday will be a game-time decision.
Even with that against his record, DePerno still leads the league with 1,197 rushing yards and is fourth with 16 total touchdowns.
His counterpart for Valencia, junior running back Brian Bonner, is second with 1,186 rushing yards and first with 27 total touchdowns.
West Ranch sophomore quarterback Blake Johnson also suffered an apparent elbow injury last week but came back to throw the game-winning touchdown pass. He is set to start Friday’s game, according to Varner.
Valencia junior quarterback Brady Bretthauer leads the league with 2,124 passing yards and 18 touchdowns. His favorite targets have been Nick Seymour, who has a league-leading 885 receiving yards, and Bonner, who has 399 receiving yards.
Friday’s game is set to kick off at 7 p.m. at Valencia High School.
Signal Staff Picks:
Justin Vigil-Zuniga (13-5): Valencia remains unscathed. Vikings 42-21.
Tyler Wainfeld (11-7): Vikings cap off perfect league campaign. 35-21 Valencia.
Hart looking for momentum heading into playoffs, faces Saugus
The Hawks are looking for a bounce-back win before heading into the postseason.
Hart can wrap up one of its best regular seasons in years with a win on Friday over Saugus.
The Hawks ran into a stonewall two weeks ago against the Vikings but enter Friday’s battle refreshed and healthy.
Hart quarterback Jacob Paisano should be a lock to start. When he is leading the offense, Hart has averaged 33 points a game.
Saugus enters what could be its season finale hungry for one more win. The Centurions posted a great second half against Golden Valley, where their comeback fell just short.
Centurions junior Ty Hall rushed for 100 yards for the second straight game while quarterback Jake Nuttall threw for over 240 yards and threw no interceptions for the first time in three weeks.
The Centurions will need to slow down Hart first-down machines Parker Maxwell and running back Zach Rogozik for a shot at stealing a win on Saugus senior night. A big game puts Maxwell over 1,000 receiving yards on the season while Rogozik enters the battle with 20 total touchdowns in eight games.
Signal Staff Picks:
Justin Vigil-Zuniga (13-5): Hart gets back on track. 35-24 Hawks.
Tyler Wainfeld (11-7): Hawks fly to second place. 31-24 Hart.
Golden Valley and Canyon battling for playoffs
Golden Valley (7-2, 3-2) is just about a lock for the postseason while Canyon (3-6, 1-4) will need some help and luck to find a way in.
Playoffs or not, both teams want this one.
The Cowboys beat the Grizzlies last season for the first time since 2014, ending an eight-game losing streak, a trend Dan Kelley and Golden Valley will look to restart.
The Grizzlies had the Centurions put away last week before Saugus pulled back into the game late. The Centurions’ pass attack, along with a hefty number of Golden Valley penalties, marched Saugus down the field on four touchdown drives in the second half.
The Grizzlies’ run game remains close to unstoppable. Senior Jamison Torres went over 300 total yards against Saugus and will be fighting for his third 200-yard game of the year against Canyon.
The Cowboys enter week 11 on a four-game skid, and their second heartbreaking loss in that stretch, after blowing their 14-0 lead on West Ranch.
Canyon will be working on pocket protection as the team gave up four sacks to West Ranch.
The Cowboys need a ton in their favor just to get an at-large bid but a win over the Grizzlies would easily help their case.
Canyon hosts Golden Valley on Friday at 7 p.m.
Signal Staff Picks:
Justin Vigil-Zuniga (13-5): Golden Valley wins thriller. 31-28 Grizzlies.
Tyler Wainfeld (11-7): Grizzlies clinch their playoff spot. 28-21 Golden Valley.
Trinity one step away from perfect season
One team stands in the way of a perfect 10-0 season for the Trinity Classical Academy Knights.
Thursday night at College of the Canyons, the Knights (9-0, 4-0) host the Riverside Prep Silver Knights (2-7, 2-2) having already secured a share of the Cottonwood League title, but with sights set on keeping it all to themselves.
And there’s little reason to doubt that they’ll do it. Trinity has outscored opponents 435-74 this season and has trailed in a game only once all year.
It’s somewhat of a revenge game for Trinity after Riverside won the previous four contests.
This year, though, Trinity boasts an offense that can seemingly score at will. Led by senior quarterback Noah Visconti and senior John Carlson, who has spent time at receiver, running back and wherever else head coach Mike Parrinello needs him, Trinity is averaging nearly 50 points per game.
Visconti has 2,323 passing yards and 36 touchdowns against just three interceptions. Carlson leads Trinity with 21 touchdowns, eight on the ground, 12 through the air and one on a fumble recovery.
Sophomore Andrew Carlson, John’s younger brother, is one of three Trinity players to have at least 10 touchdowns, along with senior Luke Backes and his brother. Freshman Aiden Visconti, Noah’s younger brother, is close with eight.
Riverside has featured four quarterbacks this year, though the Silver Knights do have a standout running back in sophomore Cantrell Eubanks, who has 796 yards and eight touchdowns. Junior receiver Maurice Jefferson leads Riverside with 470 yards and five touchdowns receiving.
Thursday’s game is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. at COC’s Cougar Stadium.
SCCS looking for more heading into finale
Santa Clarita Christian is one win away from its second straight perfect season in Heritage League play.
While the Cardinals will be going all in for a win, the team will look to execute and play its most consistent game, with the CIF Division 1 eight-man playoffs likely around the corner.
SCCS will host the Desert Christian Knights on Saturday, a team that has allowed 127 points in its last two outings.
The Cardinals are hot off arguably their best win of the season, a 39-32 road victory over the previously unbeaten Faith Baptist. Quarterback Cayden Rappleye pounded the Contenders with over 350 total yards along with all six touchdowns in the game while adding 15 tackles on defense. Senior Eli Duhm reeled in two of those touchdown passes and added seven tackles and a pick on defense.
Duhm and Rappleye have been close to unstoppable at times so look for the quarterback to try to get more of his receivers involved heading into the postseason.
SCCS can push its win streak to four games on Saturday when the Cardinals take on the Knights. Kick-off is slated for 6:30 p.m. at Canyon High School.