By Vincent PAGE

The Crescenta Valley High School Falcons varsity football team will be taking on the Golden Valley Grizzlies on Friday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. It will be the Falcons’ first game in California this season after they defeated the Barron Collier Cougars 34-31 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.

The Falcons will be heading to Moyse Field at Glendale High School for the home opener. They will face the 2-0 Grizzlies, which are coming off a 28-21 victory. In that game, senior running back DJ Turner ran for 126 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Wildcat quarterback DeGabriel Floyd added three touchdowns as well.

The Grizzlies have an incredibly strong running game, but their passing game is questionable. Four Golden Valley players combined for a 7-21 completion rate for 112 yards. Only two Grizzlies caught passes, as Floyd caught two for 25 yards and senior wideout Jalin Lewis added five catches for 82 yards.

The Falcons’ defense will have to solely key in on stopping the run. If they can do that, and contain Floyd and Turner, then the Grizzlies will be forced to throw it, which they have not proven they can do.

For the Falcons’ offense, it will be business as usual. Players should lean heavily on running back Joe Suh again, as he carried the team in Florida. He carried the ball for 213 yards while adding 22 yards receiving.

On defense, senior linebacker Brian Erickson will be called upon to lead the team in stopping the run. The Falcons can usually afford to play back on defense to prevent against passes because of Erickson’s range in run defense. However, they can key in on the run this week and should be able to stop the passing game with Tyler Lobianco in the secondary.

The Golden Valley defense is no slouch, and has only allowed 21 points on the season after shutting out Highland High School in their season opener. They have also intercepted four passes, despite a pass rush that has only sacked opposing quarterbacks twice.

In the end, it will come down to gameplanning. The Falcons have the talent to win the game. However, defensive coordinator Dennis Gossard will have to come up with a solid gameplan to stop the Grizzlies run game, something that has not been done yet in this early season.

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  Vincent PAGE