The first round of the CIF football playoffs was an eventful night, as two league champions and the Foothill League runner-up took an early exit.

Valencia, Hart and Trinity Classical Academy all fell short in their respective games, while Golden Valley and Santa Clarita Christian School (SCCS) rose to the challenge to pick up a win.

Golden Valley (9-2) VS El Toro (5-6):

The Golden Valley Grizzlies won their first playoff game since 2022, when they ended their season in the Division 7 CIF Championship.

The Grizzlies hope to end their season in the same fashion, with a title game, and they began their attempts Friday by defeating El Toro 35-21. 

Jamison Torres led the Grizzlies to victory, running for 221 yards and a pair of touchdowns off 45 carries.

Brandon Conteras backed up Torres in the backfield and tossed three touchdowns despite only eight throw attempts. 

On his three touchdown throws, Conteras connected with Jason Acevedo, Aj Dervonvil, and Anthony Baldoze. 

Defensively, the Grizzlies made some splash plays, tallying a sack, fumble recovery and four tackles for a loss.

Golden Valley hopes to duplicate its road playoff victory from Friday’s matchup with Warren High School in the second round of the playoffs.

Warren is set to host Golden Valley on Friday at 7 p.m. at Justice Stadium in Downey.

SCCS (8-2) VS Faith Baptist (8-2):

The Cardinals faced league rival, Faith Baptist to begin their playoff run in 8-man football.

The two sides were still on a high from their recent meeting, which took place two games earlier.

On Oct. 25, the two teams played their first meeting, with SCCS winning 39–32.

Faith Baptists had a foul taste in their mouths and were hungry to defeat their rivals.

The first quarter began with a touchdown drive exchange between SCCS and Faith Baptist, and the action continued into the second quarter.

Less than a minute before halftime, Cayden Rappleye put the Cardinals ahead 20–12 with a touchdown pass to Eli Duhm.

As SCCS gained momentum, they were able to give the ball to Jonathan Boelter, who rushed into the endzone.

Only a few minutes later, Faith Baptist got within six points of SCCS’s advantage with a touchdown pass to Josh Stupak and a two-point convert by Carter Mills.

That would be the game’s last touchdown, much to the Cardinals’ pleasure, and SCCS would defeat their league rivals 26–20.

The unbeaten Flintridge Prep will be the next opponent for SCCS. The Cardinals will host the game on Saturday, with kickoff at 1 p.m. 

Valencia (6-5) VS Lakewood (7-4):

The reigning Foothill League Champions rolled into the first round of the playoffs on a six-game win streak. 

On Friday night, that all came to a screeching halt as the Lakewood Lancers upset the Vikings 50-26.

Throughout the first half, Valencia struggled to find a rhythm, while Lakewood was virtually unstoppable.

“We didn’t play consistently enough,” said Valencia Head Coach Larry Muir. “When you’re in a game like this where you are evenly matched up, you better be firing on all cylinders, and if you’re not, Lakewood is the type of team that will make you pay, and they did.”

Despite the first-half struggles, Valencia found the endzone on a 71-yard touchdown run from Brian Bonner and a 15-yard touchdown pass from Brady Bratthauer to Nico Funez.

As the first half winded down, the Vikings’ defense began to come to life with a pair of sacks to force Lakewood to punt on fourth and 35.

Down 28-14, Valencia came out of the half with energy and capped a seven-minute drive with a six-yard rushing touchdown from Nick Seymour.

Following the opening drive, the Vikings’ momentum stalled, and they scored only one more touchdown, while Lakewood scored 22 more points.

Despite the loss, Muir added that he hoped the seniors would be proud of going 6-0 to become league champions after starting the season 0-4.

“That’s a month of struggle, and to their credit, they hung in there, and they upped their level of play,” said Muir. 

More than having a successful season to reflect on, Muir wants both younger and veteran players to take football lessons and use them in their daily lives.

“It’s everything. At the end of the day, it’s the values that, whether they realize it today, tomorrow or at some point in their life, they come to understand the values they get out of this,” said Muir. “When they do that, that is when the real magic happens, and those are the things that you’re most proud of.”

Hart (8-3) VS Rancho Verde (7-4):

In the 47-34 loss to Rancho Verde, Hart’s air attack flourished thanks to quarterback Jacob Paisano and his supporting cast of receivers.

Paisano threw for 324 yards, four touchdowns and completed 20 of his 33 passes. Some of his favorite targets on the night included Parker Maxwell, who had 143 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Zach Rogozik was also very involved in the passing game, with seven receptions for 134 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

While the Hawks’ air attack was soaring, their run game never gained any momentum, only gaining 54 yards. On the other hand, Rancho Verde was having their way with 364 rushing yards. 

Trinity (10-1) VS Carter (7-3):

After going 10-0 and becoming the Cottonwood League Champions, the Knights season came crumbling down Friday night in a 53-15 loss.

In the first half, Carter scored 33 points as Trinity’s offense failed to score a single point.

Carter continued their strong play from the first half and scored 20 points in the second half, while the Knights managed 15.

For all updates on sports in the Santa Clarita Valley, follow KHTS Sports on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Clarita’s only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.