The first week of Foothill League action didn’t disappoint.
After last week’s high-scoring shootouts and last-minute comebacks, the Santa Clarita Valley appears to be in for another exciting week of games that will produce another round of intense rivalry matchups.
Following a loss at home, West Ranch will take its bye week and will return next week.
As for the private schools, both Trinity and Santa Clarita Christian are on the road this week with the Cardinals beginning the first of a four-game road trip.
Here’s a look at this week’s matchups:
Saugus vs. Valencia
The Centurions (4-1, 0-1) had the perfect start to the year with four straight wins, but in the first week of Foothill League play, suffered their first loss.
Despite the loss, the Centurions’ offense didn’t miss a beat and still dropped 35 points on Hart’s defense along with 598 all-purpose yards.
This week, Saugus will hit the road taking on the two-time defending Foothill League champions, Valencia (4-1, 1-0) in what will be a heavyweight matchup.
The Vikings are coming off a shutout 48-0 win over West Ranch along with an offense that is led by the University of Washington commit Brian Bonner.
In the win over the Wildcats, Bonner had 147 yards on just four carries and has tallied already nine touchdowns in the season.
And this week, Bonner has another opportunity to have a breakout game against a Saugus run defense that allowed 284 rushing yards to Jacob Paisano and Matix Frithsmtih last week.
Friday’s matchup will no doubt be a statement game for both teams as Valencia seeks another league title over a potential playoff hopeful in Saugus.
If Valencia comes out on top, a win over a four-win Saugus football program can certainly shoot the Vikings up the Southern Section rankings as Valencia currently sits 37th according to MaxPreps.
Signal Staff Pick:
Ryan Romero: Valencia wins at home, 42-31 Vikings
Golden Valley vs. Hart
Both the Grizzlies (2-3, 1-0) and the Hawks (3-2, 1-0) opened the Foothill League schedule with wins and have all the momentum on their side as they approach week five of the season.
The Grizzlies are coming off big back-to-back wins over the South Pasadena Tigers and Canyon Cowboys. And in both wins, Golden Valley outscored its opponents 48-23, a huge turnaround from their first three games of the season in which the Grizzlies were outscored by 93 points.
But this week, Golden Valley will be facing a tough league rival in Hart, which is coming off a statement win over Saugus.
The Hawks’ offense dropped 46 points on a Saugus defense that hadn’t allowed the 30-point threshold before last week, and if Golden Valley wants to come out on top, it’ll need its defense to execute all four quarters.
The Grizzles came from behind in last week’s win over Canyon. Down 10-0 in the first half, their defense shut out the Cowboys in the second half to come out on top.
Hart’s offense is led by quarterback Jacob Paisano, who accounted for six touchdowns last week. The Hawks are coming off back-to-back 40-point-plus wins.
Signal Staff Pick:
Ryan Romero: Hart defeats Golden Valley for second league win, 38-24 Hawks
Canyon vs. Castaic
For the first time since the shortened 2020 season, the Cowboys (0-5, 0-1) are winless through the first five games of the season.
And following a loss last week to Golden Valley, Canyon is amid a six-game league losing streak.
This week, the Cowboys will look to break that streak with the team they defeated for their last league victory, Castaic.
The Coyotes did not play last week due to their scheduled bye week, and the biggest question that needs answering is how the offense will perform in league play.
Castaic’s offense only scored 13 points through the first weeks of the season, and since then, has been shut out in back-to-back games against San Joaquin Memorial and Dominguez. And if the Coyotes want to come out as victors, the team will need to outscore the Cowboys, whose offense has also been struggling.
The Cowboys were held to 10 points in the defeat to the Grizzlies last weekend, and the week before, they were shut out on the road. Although the offense is in a bit of a rut, that hasn’t been the case all season.
In the loss to Buena, the Cowboys’ offense scored 30 points, with Keyshawn Wooten leading the way with 141 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Canyon’s offense has proved it can perform when the matchup is right. With the Coyotes’ defense unable to stop the run game, as seen when Castaic gave up 251 yards in the loss to Dominguez, Canyon would appear to have the edge over Castaic.
Signal Staff Pick
Ryan Romero: Canyon secures its first win, 21-14 Cowboys
Trinity at Calvary Chapel
The Knights (1-2) opened the 2025 season with mixed results.
Despite a blowout win over Bosco Tech, Trinity lost its following game to Gahr at home and after another bye week in the first half of the season, the Knights go on the road to Santa Ana to face the Calvary Chapel Eagles.
Trinity will be in for a tough matchup with the Eagles. Calvary Chapel is undefeated to start the season and is coming off a narrow 10-7 win over Capistrano Valley Christian.
In the Eagles’ four wins, they’ve outscored their opponents by 65 points and held their opponents to 40.
The Knights have also held their opponents to 40 points through three games but have only scored 69 points. If Trinity wants to return home victorious, the Knights will need to execute on offense like they’ve done with Bosco Tech, when the team scored 46 points.
Friday’s game between Trinity and the Eagles is set to kick off at 7 p.m. at Calvary Chapel.
SCCS at Chadwick
The Cardinals (0-4) are winless to start the season following a loss at home to the Fresno Christian Eagles.
Despite the result, the Cardinals’ offense had its best performance all season as the team scored 32 points behind sophomore quarterback Dax Woodward’s four-touchdown night.
Woodward made his first appearance of the season after suffering an injury in June and threw three touchdown passes when he relieved Caleb Grissom, who has started every game for Santa Clarita Chrisitan.
This week, the Cardinals will be looking for Woodward to have a repeat performance on the road against Chadwick (2-1).
The Dolphins are coming off a blowout win over Amino Robinson and the Cardinals’ defense will face another test with the high-scoring Chadwick offense, which dropped 46 points in the victory.
Friday’s game between the Dolphins and Santa Clarita Chrisitan is set to kick off at 3:30 p.m. at Chadwick.
