By Vincent PAGE

The Crescenta Valley Falcons varsity football team took home a win at their opener on Friday night against the Golden Valley High School Grizzlies though the score was closer than it should have been. Nevertheless, the Falcons emerged as victors and moved to 2-0 on the season after their 26-19 win.

The Falcons’ gameplan was similar to the one seen in their first game. They rode senior running back Joe Suh throughout the game while looking for opportunities in the passing game. Suh finished the night with 100 yards and two scores on 25 carries, while also scoring once in the passing game.

Golden Valley was all in on their star player De’Gabriel Floyd on Friday. Floyd, a 2019 five-star recruit who is committed to USC, tore up the Falcons’ defense throughout the night. He had six carries for 117 yards against the Falcons, while adding on 114 yards receiving. He finished the night with three total touchdowns as well.

Early in the game, the Falcons’ offense took a big hit when top wideout James Baek went down with a hand injury. He would not return to the game, and he was later diagnosed with a broken thumb. Baek avoided surgery, and will be able to play with a padded cast. While it will prevent him from contributing on offense, Baek will be able to assist the team on defense.

As the game tolled on, the Falcons’ defense was having an exceptional night. Apart from a few big plays from Floyd, including 80-yard and 60-yard touchdowns, the defense was playing a solid game. Sometimes talented players such as Floyd just make incredible plays, and the Falcons did a good job withstanding those plays.

With the clock winding down in the fourth, the Grizzlies were looking to tie the game until Falcon cornerback Tyler Lobianco took over. With six minutes to go, he made a clutch interception to give the Falcons a chance to run out the clock. When the Grizzlies got the ball back, Lobianco swatted down a fourth-down pass to give the Falcons the victory.

The Falcons once again flirted with allowing a comeback by Golden Valley. However, head coach Paul Schilling was confident in his team’s energy.

“We’re fired up … We had more depth than them. They had [about] eight guys playing both ways and we didn’t have many, so that helped us hold on there at the end,” Schilling explained.

The Falcons move to 2-0 on the season, and will be taking on cross-town rival La Cañada High School on Friday at 7 p.m. This game is always played with heavy hearts for CVHS, as it is a yearly tribute to former head coach Gordy Wornack who coached the Falcons from 1967-76 and again from 1979-84 and passed away during La Cañada week in 2010.

  Vincent PAGE