The Golden Valley Grizzlies football team is one step closer to a playoff berth for the second straight season, and the fourth time in the last five, after Friday night’s win over West Ranch.
Junior Aaron McCormick was a one-man wrecking crew for the Grizzlies, amassing 235 rushing yards and four touchdowns to lead Golden Valley to a 43-28 victory at College of the Canyons’ Cougar Stadium.
“It was really big,” McCormick said of the win. “I think we all, going into this game, had this mentality of, ‘It’s win or go home,’ so that kind of pushed us further to actually win this game and pushed us to try our hardest.”
The win sets up a potentially thrilling regular-season finale next week when the Grizzlies (4-5, 3-2) travel to take on the Saugus Centurions for the third and final automatic playoff spot in the Foothill League. Whoever wins is guaranteed to be in the playoffs, but the Grizzlies would be denied a spot with their under-.500 record should they lose. The Centurions would be eligible as an at-large team having already secured a record above .500.
“We’re gonna have to play our best game possible, you know,” Kelley said of next week’s game. “And like I told the kids, I said, ‘Hey, treat next week as a playoff game, and if you don’t win, you don’t deserve to be in the playoffs, you know, because you’re one-and-done anyways in the playoffs. So, it’s a big game.”
Golden Valley senior quarterback Jayce Johnson added some firepower to the offense on Friday with 116 passing yards, completing 10 of his 14 attempts, and 39 rushing yards. He threw one touchdown pass and ran in another. Head coach Dan Kelley praised his quarterback for taking what the defense was giving him and not trying to do too much with his legs.
“Jayce made a couple decisions tonight that really impressed me,” Kelley said. “On some run-pass options, he gave the ball out when somebody was covered, and then on other plays — you know, he hit Ace Frias. He’s doing a better job with it, and he gets better every week. And I always tell him, you know, ‘Don’t try to win the game. Your job is to manage the game.’ And he did a pretty good job of that.”
McCormick’s individual performance was “one of the best” Kelley has seen during his tenure at Golden Valley, a sign of how well the offensive line was playing, he said.
“I thought the offensive line clicked later in the game, giving McCormick a really strong performance,” Kelley said. “We always look at the runner, but I think the offensive line set the tone, and we were able to break some runs. And protection-wise, too, for the quarterback.”
The Grizzlies took a 22-7 halftime lead after giving up the first score of the game to West Ranch (2-7, 1-4). Wildcats junior quarterback Blake Johnson hit junior Charlie Samuelson for a 42-yard touchdown less than three minutes into the contest. West Ranch nearly made it a one-possession game late in the first half, but a bad snap at the 1-yard line and another bad snap on the ensuing field-goal attempt turned the ball over on downs.
Golden Valley responded to the early touchdown with one of its own in the first quarter. McCormick hit paydirt for the first time on the night with an 8-yard run. He made it two first-half scores in the second quarter with a 9-yard run. Johnson found senior Anthony Baldoze in the end zone from 12 yards out in the second quarter as well.
The second half was just about even, with both teams putting up 21 points. West Ranch head coach TJ Yonkers said his team, which was still fighting for its playoff hopes entering Friday’s contest, is learning how to finish games the right way.
“We’re trying to build momentum with these young guys,” Yonkers said. “We’re trying to coach them up and give them some in-game experience. They’re getting it. It’s not always going to go our way, but our focus really is on the process, not as much the result. We’re really just trying to coach these young guys up and make sure they’re ready to go when their time comes. And again, this one didn’t go the way we wanted all the way through, but we had some moments that I think we can build on and build that momentum we keep talking about.”
Junior Mesziah Ramos had one of those moments Yonkers mentioned, running for a 41-yard touchdown in the third quarter. He racked up 90 yards on just 13 carries, scoring twice. Blake Johnson had a couple of moments as well, including a 44-yard completion to senior Aidan Lynch before finding sophomore Dylan Williams in the end zone from 5 yards out to round out Friday night’s scoring.
Frias, a senior, had three catches for 46 yards for the Grizzlies, who scored a touchdown on all five of their trips to the red zone.
Samuelson, a junior, had 70 yards on just two catches for West Ranch. Lynch had 73 yards on two catches, adding 21 yards on the ground.
Golden Valley had 22 first downs on the night compared to 10 for West Ranch.
The Wildcats end the regular season next week with a road game at Canyon.
The Grizzlies will look to officially claim their playoff spot when they take on Saugus on the road next week. And McCormick’s mentality?
“Win, win, win,” he said.
