Golden Valley football head coach Dan Kelley knew going into the 2026 season that this year’s offense had the potential to be great with a mix of young talent and veteran leadership.
What Kelley didn’t expect was how Golden Valley’s offense would start the season after the Grizzlies defeated the Pasadena Bulldogs in a 47-8 road win behind sophomore quarterback Jaxson Ray’s four-touchdown performance.
“It’s an important thing to start off with a win, especially with all the hard work we put in over the offseason and during the summer,” Kelley said in an interview with The Signal. “There’s a lot of great energy right now in the program and um, we’re feeling good about ourselves.”
Ray, who’s only a 10th grader and was a starter on the junior varsity team last season, threw a total of three touchdown passes in the win over Pasadena (0-1) to junior receiver Ian Henriquez, sophomore Cornell Glass and senior Aaron McCormick.
Ray also ran in for a touchdown in the victory and was an all-around threat. Kelley said that his sophomore quarterback didn’t play or look like a 10th grader and instead showed signs of a senior as he commanded the offense throughout the night.
“It’s not very common you see a sophomore quarterback stepping up to a varsity team and do what he did,” Kelley said. “He did a good job of orchestrating the offense and leading the huddle and telling guys what to do and understanding where the ball should go and his input is pretty solid, too, when he comes off the field and he sees things and that helps me with my play call as well.”
As for Golden Valley’s (1-0) run game, McCormick totaled two touchdowns on the ground in addition to his receiving touchdown from Ray.
While the offense brought the fireworks, Golden Valley’s defense maintained the momentum.
Throughout the win, the Grizzlies recorded 10 tackles for loss and held the Bulldogs to just eight points.
Kelley said the Grizzlies are playing good football on the defensive side of the ball and during an important time of the season to start the year off with a win.
“It’s important to play solid defense. Football is a game won by defense, you can score 100 points but if they score 110, they win. And I thought they did [Friday night],” Kelley said.
The Grizzlies will look to build upon their momentum next week with a home matchup against the visiting Crespi Celts, who are coming off a narrow 31-24 loss to Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks.
“Crespi is a good football program, and we’re going to have to prepare better than we ever have,” Kelley said. “We’re going to have to play perfect football to beat Crespi and that’s a challenge for the kids. So, they need to step up to the occasion and play at the highest possible level. if they do that, I think we be in any game.”
The matchup between the Grizzlies and Crespi is scheduled for Friday at Canyon High School with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
