The 2024 prep football regular season saw three Santa Clarita Valley teams capture league titles.  The Valencia Vikings earned a second consecutive Foothill League title as the top public school in the area, while the two private schools playing football, Santa Clarita Christian and Trinity Classical Academy, won the Heritage League and Cottonwood League, respectively.  Those three teams, along with the Golden Valley Grizzlies and Hart Hawks, are all bound for the postseason and found out their fate Sunday when the CIF Southern Section released the 11-man and eight-man brackets.  Valencia, Hart and Golden Valley will be playing at home on Friday, while SCCS and Trinity are slated for road trips in the first round. All four 11-man teams are in different divisions, so there are no chances for an all-local playoff matchup this year.  Here’s what SCV football squads can look forward to in the first round of the postseason.  Valencia hosts Lakewood in Division 5  The Valencia Vikings (6-4, 6-0) are seemingly inevitable this time of year.  Making the playoffs for the 17th straight year, the Vikings are at home on Friday when they host the Lakewood Lancers (6-4, 4-2), the third-place team out of the Moore League, in Division 5.  Valencia wide receiver Nick Seymour (1) earns a first down during the first quarter of Friday’s game against West Ranch at Valencia High School on Nov. 1. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal Points should be put up on the board in this one as Valencia comes in averaging 41.5 points per game, just above the 36.5 points that Lakewood puts up per game.  Both teams have junior quarterbacks who have put up big numbers this year. Valencia’s Brady Bretthauer is 2 yards shy of 2,500 passing yards, adding 21 touchdowns against nine interceptions. Lakewood’s Kade Casillas has 2,437 passing yards and 26 touchdowns against just two interceptions.  Receivers for both squads have also showed out. Senior Nick Seymour leads Valencia with 1,081 yards after a nearly 200-yard performance in last week’s shutout over West Ranch. Lakewood senior Cecil Xavier Smith has a team-high 748 receiving yards, though his six touchdowns are good for second, tied with junior Caleb Tafua and behind junior Kenny Niumataevalu’s eight.  Each of those Lakewood receivers has more than 500 yards on the year.  Valencia junior Brian Bonner has been as capable a pass-catcher as he is running out of the backfield. He has 1,328 yards and 24 touchdowns on the ground to go with 484 yards and four scores through the air.  Junior Logan Thompson, sophomore Nico Funez and senior Isaac Shin add some depth to the Valencia receiving corps.  Friday’s game is set to kick off at 7 p.m. at Valencia High School.  Hart hosts Rancho Verde in Division 6  Finishing in second place in the Foothill League, the Hart Hawks (8-2, 5-1) are set to take on the Rancho Verde Mustangs (6-4, 4-1) at home on Friday in the first round in Division 6.  The Mustangs finished second in the Ivy League after losing to Orange Vista last week, 13-12.  Hart quarterback Nate Mata (12) looks for an opening during the second quarter of Friday’s game against Valencia at College of the Canyons on Oct. 18. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal Hart junior quarterback Jacob Paisano got back to business last week after dealing with an injury, throwing for five touchdowns in a win over Saugus. Head coach Jake Goossen-Brown said after the win it’s “a different team with him at the helm.”  Senior running back Zach Rogozik added two touchdowns for Hart last week to bring his total to 18 on the ground to go along with his four through the air. Senior receiver Parker Maxwell had nearly 200 yards and three touchdowns, giving him 12 scores on the year.  Rancho Verde has a junior quarterback in C. Thompson who has more than 1,800 yards and 20 touchdowns on the season. Senior Brandon Gilliam has more than 550 yards and six TDs on the ground, while senior Amarion Orange has nearly 1,000 yards and 12 TDs receiving and senior Keith Felder has nearly 400 yards and four TDs.  Hart has scored more than 100 points more than the Mustangs.  Friday’s game is slated to kick off at 7 p.m. at College of the Canyons.  Golden Valley hosts El Toro in Division 7  After a year away, the Golden Valley Grizzlies (8-2, 4-2) are back in the playoffs, hosting the El Toro Chargers (5-5, 3-2) out of the Iota League on Friday in Division 7.  Both teams finished third in their league. The Grizzlies also matched the program’s best record, tying the 2019 squad at 8-2 after beating rival Canyon last week.  Valencia Viking Nick Seymour (1) attempt to stop Golden Valley Grizzly Jamison Torres (6) during their game on Thursday night at Valencia High School. Trisha Anas/ The Signal. Senior Jamison Torres has lined up seemingly everywhere on offense for the Grizzlies, running for over 1,400 yards and 19 touchdowns and adding 270 yards and three touchdowns as a receiver.  Senior quarterback Brandon Contreras has thrown for 1,260 yards and 11 touchdowns this year.  Torres and seniors Anthony Seragusa (437 yards, four TDs) and Jonathan Flores (35 catches, 334 yards) are all candidates for big games.  El Toro’s quarterback, senior Jack McKelvy, has thrown for more than 1,600 yards while junior running back Makya Chee has run for more than 1,000. Senior receiver Luke Doyle has more than 50 catches and 700 yards.  Friday’s game is set for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Canyon High School.  Trinity travels to Carter in Division 12  What does a 10-0 record and a league title get you?  If you’re the Trinity Knights (10-0, 5-0), you get to make a long trip out to San Bernardino in the first round in Division 12 to take on the Carter Lions (6-3, 4-1).  Trinity celebrates the first touchdown of the game against Riverside Prep during the first quarter of Thursday’s game at College of the Canyons on Oct. 31. Habeba Mostafa/ The SIgnal Carter finished second in the Skyline League.  Trinity has had a historic season for the program, led by quarterback Noah Visconti, who now holds the school’s all-time record with 5,614 passing yards. He’s thrown for more than 2,500 yards and 41 touchdowns against just three interceptions this year.  Senior John Carlson has been his top target with 43 catches for more than 700 yards and 13 TDs. He’s one of three Trinity receivers with double-digit touchdown totals, along with sophomore Andrew Carlson and senior Luke Backes.  The older Carlson brother also has 285 yards and eight scores on the ground.  Visconti’s brother, freshman Aiden, has been a threat as both a receiver and on defense.  Trinity has put up five shutouts this year and is averaging nearly 50 points per game.  Carter averages 37 points per game and is led by senior quarterback Ryder Carson with nearly 1,500 yards and 17 touchdowns. Senior Jordan McKinney provides rushing output with more than 650 yards and nine TDs.  The Lions have three receivers in seniors Joey Martinez, Jaysahn Bostick and Camren Sullivan who have recorded more than 300 yards this year.  Friday’s road game is slated for kickoff at 7 p.m. on Friday.  SCCS treks to Faith Baptist in eight-man D1  The Cardinals of SCCS (7-2, 4-0) didn’t lose a league game all season in Heritage League play.   That includes a matchup with the Faith Baptist Contenders (8-1, 3-1), who finished second to the Cardinals, but it’s the Contenders who get the honor of hosting Saturday’s Division 1 matchup in eight-man football in Canoga Park.  SCCS Quarterback Cayden Rappleye (18) hands off to teammate Wyatt Shields (5) during the first half of Saturday’s game against Santa Clara High School at Canyon High School. 083124 Katherine Quezada/The Signal SCCS won the previous matchup, also on the road, 39-32. In five common matchups this year, Faith Baptist won all five while SCCS won four, losing to Avalon.  The Contenders have a slight edge in average points per game at 50, just ahead of the 45.7 that SCCS has put up.  Cardinals senior quarterback Cayden Rappleye and senior receiver Eli Duhm will be key to SCCS coming away with a win. Seniors Wyatt Shields and Jonathan Boelter and junior Caleb Shaffer are also playmakers for SCCS.  Head coach Austin Fry said after beating the Contenders that a lot of work was done to stop a potent Faith Baptist run game, which opened the Cardinals up to some big pass plays. That will likely be needed again against a team that has a tradition of winning in the postseason.  Saturday’s road game is set to kick off at 1 p.m.  The post Five SCV football teams enter the postseason  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.