After the Golden Valley flag football team suffered a narrow 9-0 loss on the road to Quartz Hill last week, head coach Dikran Melkonian was eager to bounce back in the team’s home opener on Tuesday against the Santa Paula Cardinals.
In the end, the Cardinals defeated Golden Valley, 20-0, and dropped the Grizzlies to 0-2 in the young season.
Despite the loss, Melkonian said the loss has provided his team details of what to work on and what’s been positive after the first two games of the season.
“Coming in, it’s great to see [Santa Paula] early. You want to see where your team is at. And we have a lot of work to do.” Melkonian said. “I think we have a veteran group of seniors, but I think we haven’t really experienced a scoring situation. We’ve been shut out the last two games, but we’re moving the ball a lot.”
Throughout the past two games, the Grizzlies were shutout but have produced drives that left Golden Valley’s offense just outside the end zone.
As for Golden Valley’s defense, Melkonian said that it’s been one of the team’s strongest areas as they’ve limited opposing defenses with interceptions and turnovers on downs.
In the loss to Santa Paula, the Grizzlies gave up 20 points in the opening quarter but held the Cardinals scoreless the rest of the way.
Senior safety Krysta Ezenwa came away with an interception in the loss along with multiple pass deflections.
Melkonian said Ezenwa is a key player for the Grizzlies this season and an anchor on defense who makes everyone around her better.
“That defense held Quartz Hill, and that’s a strong team, to just nine points,” Melkonian said. “They’re playing really well. Some youngsters coming in as well, locking it down. That’s going to be our backbone. And I think as the season progresses, we want to continue having trust in that defense, to get us that ball, especially turnovers.”
As the season progresses, Melkonian is hopeful that Golden Valley’s defensive stops can translate to success on offense with momentum and crucial field position.
“Our defense is really carrying us through,” Melkonian said. “But I think offensively, we’re moving the ball. Hopefully this week, Thursday, we have a doubleheader. Once we get there, I think the floodgates open.”
The Grizzlies will look to bounce back on Thursday with a doubleheader on the road with a matchup against the Van Nuys Wolves and Magnolia Science Academy Reseda Warriors with the first contest set to begin at 3:45 p.m.
Both games present an opportunity for the Grizzlies to bounce back and record their first win in the early season. Melkonian is looking for consistency and wins early as he believes this year’s Golden Valley team can compete for championships.
“There’s no doubt about it. We want to win,” he said. “We are going to be a force in this league. That’s our goal. We want to make the playoffs.”
