By Brandon HENSLEY

The venue may not have been as exotic, but the result was the same as last year’s opening game for the Crescenta Valley varsity football team, as the Falcons won comfortably 28-7 against Redondo Union Aug. 17 at Glendale High’s Moyse Field.

Moyse Field is the home of the Falcons and, while that may soon change with the community push for lighting and seating to be installed at CV High so games can be played there, Glendale is still the place for Falcon fans to cheer their team.

It was different this time last year when CV opened its season in Orlando, Florida, edging Barron Collier High 34-31. This time around, the game wasn’t that tight as senior quarterback Cole Doyle started his final year off right, leading his team to begin a season that doesn’t hold big expectations for critics.

The Falcons rushed out to a 6-0 start last year, dropped three of their final four games and then lost their first round CIF playoff game at home. Things could be different this year, but the team is replacing many who graduated and youthful inexperience will be an obstacle. Discovering how hard it will be to overcome that obstacle will be what many will be watching.

Doyle, who has started as quarterback since his sophomore year, completed 13-of-25 passes for 137 yards. Doyle has always been a threat to run as well, and against Redondo Union he rushed for 142 yards on 19 carries.

Colby Rees, a junior, was the other person to throw a pass for CV. He connected on his only attempt, a 25-yard touchdown to David Baek.

The big play of the game came in the third quarter when the Falcons faked a field goal attempt as Doyle took the snap and threw it to Sebastian Deleon for the score, giving CV a 14-0 lead.

With the exception of Deleon, a sophomore, all of the players who caught a pass, including Baek, Rees, Maximus Grant, Chase Center and Angel Ochoa, are juniors.

Deleon recorded two sacks on defense, and together CV collected six of them against Sea Hawks’ quarterback Kaden Martin.

It’s a different kind of season for CV facing non-Pacific League opponents. The usual teams, such as Verdugo Hills and La Cañada, are gone ¬– maybe for the sake of competitive balance, because those games in recent years haven’t been close.

This one wasn’t either, but who knows what’s in store this week. On Friday, CV travels to Pioneer High School to take on Santa Fe, which competes in the Del Rio League. The team lost its opening game last week at home.

CV plays at Montebello HS next week before getting a rest the first week of September. On Sept. 14, it opens up Pacific League competition at Muir High School at 7 p.m.

  Brandon Hensley