Golden Valley football will head into the postseason with a full head of steam.   The Grizzlies took down the hosting Canyon Cowboys, 35-21, on Friday to close out the regular season and put Golden Valley at a program record of four Foothill League wins on the year.   Both Grizzlies’ lines were impressive yet again as the offensive front paved huge lanes for senior running back Jamison Torres while the defensive line mowed down Canyon (3-7, 1-5).   Torres appeared to be in for a big night early despite not running the ball until the Grizzlies’ second drive. The senior back then pounded eight straight runs for at least 6-yard gains before Canyon was able to slow him down.   Torres finished the night with 165 rushing yards and three touchdowns for the Grizzlies (8-2, 4-2).   Golden Valley coach Dan Kelley told his team to treat the battle with Canyon like a playoff game, to hopefully mentally prepare the group for the adversity ahead.   “I told them you need to treat this like a playoff game,” Kelley said. “From here on out it’s one and done. You’ve got to win the game and tonight we had to do things to be successful. I’m proud of the coaches and players here at Golden Valley.”   Golden Valley Grizzly Donnavan Anson (8) is tackled by a Canyon Cowboy during the first quarter of Friday’s game. Katherine Quezada/The Signal Senior quarterback Brandon Contreras found Torres in the back of the end zone for the first score of the game on the Grizzlies’ opening drive. Contreras’ pass was tipped by the Canyon secondary but Torres made a great play sticking with the ball and reeling it in toward the back of the end zone.  Contreras also added a rushing touchdown to go up, 14-0.   Golden Valley pulled ahead in the second quarter and never let up.  Canyon found scores throughout but just couldn’t put together enough scoring drives with a pair of turnovers costing the Cowboys.   Senior defensive back Jonah Garcia forced the biggest turnover of the night after he ran back a pick-six in the third quarter. Garcia snagged an overthrown pass and sprinted back into the end zone to put the Grizzlies up 28-7.  “I was having a rough game and before that play, I asked God for an opportunity, and he just gave me one,” Garcia said. “It just came right into my hands, it literally was gifted right into my hands. I took it back. It felt super unreal.”   For Garcia and the team, the win was huge to not only secure playoffs but propel the team forward after an up-and-down showing against Saugus last week.   “Winning was important because it’ll give us momentum into the playoffs,” Garcia said. “I think after the last game, a lot of us were feeling kind of down, because we should have played a lot better against Saugus. So this past week, we really locked in and we started playing well.”   Canyon found some rhythm in the fourth quarter. Cowboys quarterback Sebastian Martinez threw both of his passing touchdowns in the final quarter.   Canyon Cowboy Joshua Cambaliza (10) catches over a 40-yard throw before being tackled by Grizzly wide receiver Jonah Garcia (2) during Friday’s home game against the Golden Valley. Katherine Quezada/The Signal Martinez had big plays throughout the night to senior Joshua Cambaliza. The two connected five times for 124 yards and one score, a 45-yard touchdown pass.   Cambaliza also added Canyon’s only score of the first half with a 5-yard touchdown run on an end around.   The Grizzlies recovered a pair of onside kicks in the fourth quarter to seal the deal.   Canyon Cowboy Semaj Richardson (24) runs the ball against the Golden Valley Grizzlies during Friday’s home game. Katherine Quezada/The Signal Canyon running back Semaj Richardson quietly had a solid game with 98 rushing yards and a pair of big receptions. Richardson did most of his damage in the second half but just couldn’t find the end zone.   Slowing down Canyon’s multiple speedsters was a tall task for the Grizzlies. Garcia believes physicality made the difference while Kelley saw his team have a great week of practice and clean up some coverage issues.  “We cleaned up some of our mistakes from last week and that’s a sign of a great football team,” Kelley said. “Just understanding the coaching and making the adjustments during the week to get better.”   Golden Valley finds out where its postseason journey begins on Sunday when the CIF releases playoff brackets.   “We’re feeling good, especially after this win,” Garcia said. “There’s a few things we gotta work on in practice, but I think we can get it done. I think we’re gonna go for a while into the playoffs, hopefully to the championship game.”  The post Golden Valley football secures playoff spot, beats Canyon  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.