Valencia (3-3, 1-0) vs Hart (4-2, 1-0)
High School Football
Friday, 7:00 p.m., College of the Canyons
Valencia got back on track with a cruising 31-3 win over Canyon, and the Indians won their fourth in a row. It even moved Hart up to 7th in Division 4.
Perhaps the biggest rivalry in Foothill League football these days hasn’t been much of one with the Vikings’ dominance over the past decade and a half. The last time Hart beat Valencia was in that famous 2013 CIF SS championship game.
Valencia has shown to be vulnerable to tough, physical runners this season. There’s no question that Hart running back Taden Littleford will have to be spectacular to relieve pressure off of quarterback Zach Johnson, and keep the ball away from the explosive Vikings offense as much as possible.
However, Valencia has won 38 straight league games for a reason. Most Foothill League teams have struggled just being competitive in the second half against the Vikings.
Can the Hart Indians hang in there and give themselves a shot in the second half?
No. 17 Westmont vs The Master’s University
Women’s Volleyball
Saturday, 7:00 p.m., The MacArthur Center
The Mustangs sit in a three-way tie for third place in the ultra competitive Golden State Athletic Conference standings. They’re peaking at the right time, having won 4 out of their last 5 conference games, the only loss a slip up against William Jessup. It’s gut check time now, though, and they can ill-afford to drop any more conference games at home.
Westmont has been excellent all season, but their only two losses have come on the road. Now is the time for the Mustangs to pounce and hand Warriors their second conference loss.
TMU has a tune up tonight against La Sierra. The Golden Eagles come into the match on five game winning streak. It will go a long way in sending a message of focus if the Mustangs come out and dominate this match before the showdown with Westmont on Saturday.
Washington Nationals vs Los Angeles Dodgers
NLDS Game 5
5:37 p.m., Dodger Stadium
The last time the Dodgers and Nationals faced off in a deciding Game 5, it had all the drama of a high stakes winner-take-all: incredible late-inning offense from the Dodgers and a save on one day’s rest by Clayton Kershaw.
Related story: Dodgers Pushed To Brink – Game 5 Tonight
That was in 2016, a narrow 4-3 victory on the road for the Dodgers. It was manager Dave Roberts first time experiencing the “all hands on deck” feeling of managing a win or go home game. Fastforward to 2019 and the reigning National League champions have the all the experience necessary to execute in the big moments of this game.
One player expected to break out in Monday’s Game 4 was rookie Will Smith. He played okay, and he’ll have another opportunity to perform on the big stage, possibly as the only rookie in the starting lineup.
L.A. will ride 25-year-old Walker Buehler, and then turn things over to the future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw.
One of the bigger questions lingering in this one: Can the Dodgers bats rattle Strasburg? Be sure to tune in at 5:30 to KHTS FM 98.1 or AM 1220 for the Game 5 action.
KHTS Sports is your place for the 2019 Santa Clarita high school football season and your Santa Clarita Dodgers coverage. Find all the latest news and updates on your hometown schools here as they compete in the Foothill League, Heritage League, Western State Conference and GSAC.