Golden Valley at Hart 7:30 p.m. at COC
Outside of Valencia, no teams in the Foothill League have seen their stock rise over the last few weeks than Hart and Golden Valley.
Coincidentally, both teams have been rolling since playing the Vikings.
Hart (5-3, 2-1 Foothill League) has rattled of two wins, scoring 35 points each week, while Golden Valley (4-4, 1-2) flashed its
arsenal of weapons on offense in a 38-0 win over Canyon.
With at-large postseason bids still very much in play for both teams, they’ll get a chance to bring clarity to their playoff picture when they square off Friday at College of the Canyons.
Hart and Saugus control the final two playoff spots from the Foothill League, behind Valencia. Golden Valley and West Ranch are tied for fourth place.
“Very excited, they’re a real good team, have a lot of great athletes, really fast, it should be a great game,” said Hart quarterback JT Shrout. “If we make any mistakes we know they’re going to capitalize them.”
Mistakes certainly haven’t been an issue for Shrout of late. The Cal commit threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s win over West Ranch while completing 25 of 41 passes.
“He’s all that you want in a quarterback,” said Golden Valley coach Dan Kelley. “He makes plays, has a strong arm and I don’t think people give him enough credit for his ability to make plays with his feet.”
Another Pac-12 commit will likely be featured heavily out of the quarterback spot for the Grizzlies in DeGabriel Floyd (USC).
The Grizzlies opened last week in a wildcat formation with Floyd under center. He threw and rushed for a touchdown in the victory.
“Definitely focusing on stopping him early, stopping him on the run and playing up on their receivers,” said Hart linebacker Trevor Laibl, who leads the team with 68 tackles, per MaxPreps.
Floyd was returning from an injury in the team’s league-opening loss to Saugus, which halted the wildcat formation. The Grizzlies featured it more heavily in their loss to Valencia the following week and it was firing on all cylinders against Canyon.
“It’s nice to have a kid like DeGabriel who can manage something like that,” Kelley said. “It takes a special kind of athlete to get back there at that position and be able to be the general on the field and demand respect in the huddle.”
With Floyd leading the wildcat, Jalin Lewis had a field day totaling 176 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. D.J. Turner amassed 115 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
“We got to showcase what we can do,” Turner said. “Those first two weeks in league didn’t go as planned but we know what we’re capable of.”
Hart defeated Golden Valley 35-13 last year and the Indians climbed back into the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 poll this week at No. 10. Golden Valley was ranked No. 3 in the Division 6 poll.