In last week’s season-opening games, Santa Clarita Valley football went 2-7 overall, with the only wins being impressive performances from Valencia and Saugus, who will look to carry over that momentum to this Friday.
As for the private schools, Santa Clarita Christian prepares for a bounce-back game at College of the Canyons against visiting Avalon. And, Trinity Classical Academy takes its bye week to recuperate after last week’s loss to San Fernando.
Here’s a look at this week’s matchups:
Calabasas vs. Castaic
Tonight, the Castaic Coyotes take on visiting Calabasas in Valencia.
Calabasas comes into town after a nail-biting 37-23 home win over Bishop Alemany led by running back Kayne Miller.
Miller, who rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns, also recorded 82 receiving yards. The senior will be a must-stop player by any means for the Castaic defense, but doing so won’t be any easy. Castaic’s run defense gave up 118 yards in last week’s 23-7 loss to Adelanto.
The Coyotes will also look to have a better offensive showing this week after the team only scored seven last week.
Quarterback Aiden Mojica scored the Coyotes’ only touchdown of the game with a rushing touchdown. Vicente Davalos was their biggest performer on offense with 66 rushing yards in 20 carries.
Today’s game between Castaic and Calabasas is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. at Valencia High School.
Valencia at Chaminade
The Vikings defeated the Simi Valley Pioneers, 28-7, behind an all-around performance from quarterback Brady Bretthauer.
Bretthauer threw for two touchdowns and 143 yards through the air but also utilized his legs when he ran for 172 yards along with a touchdown.
Elias Holloway also had an impressive performance in the win: The senior recorded three receptions for 63 receiving yards and a touchdown.
This week he’ll be looking to replicate that performance against his former team, the Chaminade Eagles
Chaminade will be a tough test for Valencia this week. The Eagles are the 86th best ranked nationally team via MaxPreps and are coming off a 42-27 win over Oaks Christian.
Friday’s game between the Vikings and the Eagles is set to kick off at 7 p.m. at Chaminade High School.
Saugus at Oak Park
For the first time since 2020, the Centurions have opened the year with a win in front of their home crowd, defeating Buena 35-16.
They hit the road this week with another Channel League opponent in the Oak Park Eagles.
The Eagles are coming off a 45-28 loss to Agoura and looking to have a bounce-back performance against Saugus.
Saugus’ run defense versus Oak Park’s run offense will be a battle to watch Friday. Despite last week’s loss, Oak Park did rush for 258 yards and punched in four touchdowns. As for Saugus, the run defense allowed 162 yards while averaging 9.5 yards per carry.
Saugus will need to stop the Eagles’ running back group as three different players totaled over 50 yards in last week’s game.
Friday’s game between the Centurions and the Eagles is set to kick off at 7 p.m. at Oak Park High School.
Burroughs vs. Hart
Two former Foothill League rivals face off this week with the Burroughs Bears on the road facing the Hart Hawks.
Both teams have a storied history as former league rivals, but ever since Burroughs left the Foothill League for the Pacific League back in 2006, the teams have only faced off three times, with Hart winning every bout.
The last contest between the two teams was last season when the Hart Hawks opened the season on the road at Burroughs and defeated the Bears, 38-19.
Hart quarterback Jacob Paisano started that game and threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns. He and the Hawks will be looking to rebound after the team lost last week to Birmingham.
This week’s contest between Hart and the Bears will be Burroughs’ first game of the season. The team did not have a scheduled game in the first possible week of competition, dubbed “week zero” by the California Interscholastic Federation.
Friday’s game between Hart and Burroughs is set to kick off at 7 p.m. at College of the Canyons.
Golden Valley at Crespi
Golden Valley is in for a tough matchup against the Crespi Celts this week.
The Celts are coming off a shutout 34-0 win over the Panthers at Gardena High School and host the Grizzlies at Crespi.
If the Grizzlies want to win, they’ll need their pass defense to stop Crespi quarterback Chase Curren, who threw for 236 yards and three touchdowns.
In the loss last week, the Grizzlies’ defense gave up 218 yards through the air to Westlake quarterback Ford Green, along with four receiving touchdowns.
Friday’s game between Golden Valley and the Celts is set to kick off at 7 p.m. at Crespi High School.
Bishop Diego at West Ranch
The Wildcats will want to forget last week’s 59-17 loss against Pacifica fairly quickly. But of that loss, came two impressive performances from quarterback Humza Harsolia and receiver Charlie Samuelson.
Harsolia, who’s taking over for the injured Blake Johnson, threw for 136 yards and two touchdowns. As for Samuelson, the junior received 120 yards and caught two touchdowns and will be looking forward to having a repeat performance again this week.
Regardless, Friday’s game with Bishop Diego will be a tough matchup for West Ranch. The Cardinals are in the middle of a three-game road trip to start the season but will look to carry last week’s momentum to the SCV after coming off a 42-40 win over Lancaster.
Bishop Diego quarterback Tua Puailoa Rojas will be a name for the Wildcats’ defense to look out for as the senior is coming off a three-touchdown performance along with 258 yards and a rushing touchdown.
Friday’s game between West Ranch and Bishop Diego is set to kick off at 7 p.m. at Valencia High School.
Canyon at Buena
The Canyon Cowboys’ football program didn’t have the best of all Fridays out of the SCV teams.
In a blowout 49-7 loss to Charter Oak, Canyon gave up five passing touchdowns to the Chargers’ Corin Berry. The Cowboys also surrendered two rushing touchdowns along with 160 yards among seven Charter Oak players.
This week, Canyon is slated to go up against Buena, which lost last week to Canyon’s Foothill League opponent Saugus.
In the loss, the Bulldogs running back group combined for 166 yards rushing and will be a must-stop for the Cowboys’ defense if they want to have a chance this week.
Friday’s game between Canyon and the Bulldogs is set to kick off at 7 p.m. at Buena High School.
Avalon vs. Santa Clarita Christian
Injuries plagued the Cardinals last week in a blowout 63-12 loss to Cornerstone Christian.
This week, head coach Austin Fry and his team will look to bounce back at College of the Canyons, matching up with visiting Avalon, but it won’t be any easy task.
The Cardinals are still expected to be without running back Chase Kalinski. The senior suffered a shoulder injury, and he’s expected to be out for a few weeks. The team will still have Caleb Shaffer, who scored the Cardinals’ lone scoring play of the game with a touchdown reception.
Both teams will be looking for their first win of the season as the Lancers are also winless to start the season after a 49-16 loss to Fresno Christian.
Saturday’s game between SCCS and Avalon is set to kick off at 12:30 p.m. at College of the Canyons.
