SCV’s road warriors
Prep football: 3 Foothill teams win away games on Friday night
For the first time this year, all six Foothill League football teams played on Friday, and it was a profitable night for the three road teams: Golden Valley, Hart and West Ranch.
The Grizzlies’ 56-14 win over Chatsworth equaled the second time in program history the team has started a season 4-0, the other being 2016.
Golden Valley went on to finish the 2016 season with an 8-5 record and advanced to the semifinals of the CIF-Southern Section Division 7 playoffs. If the Grizzlies win against Newbury Park at home on Friday, it would mark the first undefeated preleague record for the program.
Johnathan Kaelin scored four first-half touchdowns against Chatsworth, giving the senior a team-high eight scores so far this season.
After starting the year 0-2, the Indians have won their last two contests. They beat Burbank at home and St. Bonaventure on the road last week, and have a date with Division 4 opponent Downey on Friday at College of the Canyons.
Downey bested Hart last year in the season-opener, and the two teams have split the four games they’ve played against each other since 2015.
Hart made the CIF-SS Division 4 rankings, which were released Monday afternoon, for the first time this season, moving into the No. 9 spot.
The Wildcats have started 5-0 for the third consecutive year and enter their bye week sizzling hot before league action begins on Oct. 4.
West Ranch has been getting it done with a balanced approach, as both the passing game and running game is clicking on all cylinders.
Reiger Burgin’s 636 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns lead the league and Walker Eget’s 1,263 passing yards and 15 passing touchdowns also top the league.
The home teams weren’t as successful as their counterparts. Canyon, Saugus and Valencia all lost by at least two scores, with the Cowboys being the only team to hold a lead at some point during the game.
Canyon travels to Royal High School to wrap up its preleague schedule and Valencia will close against Calabasas on the road.
Saugus, which sits at 3-2 heading into its bye week, will open the league season against Hart on Oct. 4.
Littleford on the loose
Hart’s starting running back Taden Littleford amassed big numbers in Hart’s last two games, both victories.
The senior rushed for 183 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries against Burbank and scored another three touchdowns on Friday against St. Bonaventure.
Littleford already has more yards and touchdowns in four games this season then he had all of last year.
Trinity passes test
With the 28-25 win over Morningside on Saturday at College of the Canyons, the 4-0 Knights are off to their best start in program history since switching to 11-man football in 2015.
After defeating its first three opponents by a combined score of 152-22, Trinity faced adversity against Morningside, trailing 25-22 in the fourth quarter. Rick Roberts found Kyle Fields for a touchdown to give the Knights the 28-25 lead with less than four minutes remaining.
Roberts finished the game with 228 passing yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. AJ Horning had seven receptions for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Fields had 13 catches for 92 yards plus a score and Lucas Mendoza had two catches for 20 yards and a touchdown.
Wild wild West Ranch
The Wildcats capped off an undefeated preleague schedule with a 50-7 win over St. Genevieve on Friday. They scored a minimum of 42 points in each of their first five games.
West Ranch leads the Foothill League in almost every offensive category so far this year including passing yards (1,297), passing touchdowns (16), rushing yards (877), receiving yards (1,305) and receiving touchdowns (13).
West Ranch’s defense has been equally impressive, giving up a total of 74 points in its preleague contests, an average of 14.8 points per game. The Wildcats also lead all Foothill League teams in sacks (14) and interceptions (11).