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Golden Valley Hosts Laguna Hills For The Division 7 CIF Championship Title

The Golden Valley Grizzlies look to cap of an amazing season by becoming champions as they host Laguna Hills in the Division 7 CIF Southern Section Championship finals on Saturday.

Golden Valley (9-4) vs. Laguna Hills (12-1)

The Golden Valley Grizzlies will face off against the Laguna Hills Hawks for the 2022 Division 7 CIF Championship title. The Grizzlies have had a tremendous season. But of course no season is flawless, and they had hit a few bumps on the road, including ranking 5th in the Foothill league. However, the Grizzlies know how to make a comeback in the playoff season, with victories over Summit, Paloma and Mayfair to get a shot at the championship.

Golden Valley has shown their strengths on offense as wide receiver Ajani Smith dominates the receiving game and running back Juian Rios gets the upper hand in the running game. Quarterback Christopher Melkonian is currently ranked 7th in the Division for passing yards, but has worked hard to improve his first down percentage both with a passing and rushing game. Melkonian does not shy away from running the ball himself to get the first down, and that is going to be something Laguna Hills is going to have to look out for. On defense, the Grizzlies have made their presence known especially with linebacker Malachi Beacham who averages 11.4 tackles per game, making him a potential threat to the Hawks this week.

The Laguna Hills Hawks have had an almost perfect season, with only one loss and 12 wins, they finished 2nd in the Pacific Hills League. Laguna Hills has some key players making their name known on the national level, including running back Troy Leigbar. Leigbar ranks 25th on the National total touchdowns leaderboard with 44 total touchdowns this season. The Grizzlies are going to have to find a way to keep Leigbar out of the end zone this week if they don’t want a cat and mouse game on their hands this Saturday. Laguna Hills quarterback Kaden Austin is not as prominent on the passing yards stats like Melkonian on the Grizzlies, but with an average 85.2 passing yards per game, he has a chance at surprising the Grizzlies.

On offense, these teams are polar opposites with Laguna Hills dominating the running game and Golden Valley absolutely destroying with their passing plays, but what about on the other side of things, the defense. Laguna Hills has some great players on their defense including middle linebacker Tyler Guzman who averages 4.8 tackles per game. Guzman could be the guy the Hawks turn to to keep the ball out of Ajani Smith’s hands. Golden Valley is set to host the Laguna Hills Hawks in a Grizzlies home game for the 2022 Division 7 Championship to conclude the playoff season and maybe give the winning team a chance at state. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m on Saturday.


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Golden Valley Hosts Laguna Hills For The Division 7 CIF Championship Title

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About Karen Marin

Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, and moved to Santa Clarita when I was 13 years old. I am currently majoring in Communications at College of the Canyons where I hope to graduate and transfer afterwards. I am on the speech team, competing in events across the state working on my public speaking skills as I research and talk about informative new topics. My older brother first introduced me to football, and since then, I instantly fell in love with the sport, and my dream is to become a sports broadcaster.