Only two Santa Clarita Valley football teams remain in the CIF Southern Section playoff hunt after the first week of postseason action.  The Golden Valley Grizzlies (9-2) are preparing to head down to Downey on Friday to take on the Warren Bears (4-7) while the Santa Clarita Christian Cardinals (8-2) are set to host the Flintridge Prep Wolves (8-0) in eight-man on Saturday at Canyon High School.  The other three SCV teams that made the playoffs — Valencia Vikings, Hart Hawks and Trinity Classical Academy Knights — all crashed out in the first round last week.  Here are the things you need to know for the second week of the postseason.  Golden Valley taking long win streak into road playoff test  Saying he’s reminded of his 2022 team that made it to the section championship game, Golden Valley head coach Dan Kelley is looking forward to seeing how his team competes in a road environment in the playoffs against Warren.  “They’ve always been a really good football program,” Kelley said in a phone interview. “There’s a lot of tradition down there as well. I don’t think we’ll be bugged by the trip or the opponent.”  In preparing for Friday’s game, Kelley said Warren is a team with a couple of quick running backs, but also a strong passing game, and the Bears’ record of 4-7 doesn’t show how well they played against teams during the regular season that ended up being placed in higher divisions.  The Grizzlies took down El Toro at home last week, 35-21, to book a spot in the Elite Eight in Division 7. Senior Jamison Torres carried the ball 45 times for 221 yards and two touchdowns.  On the season, Torres now has 1,630 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns, both single-season program records.  “Here’s a guy that didn’t carry the ball for three years of high school football,” Kelley said, “so he’s getting better and better every week, and he’s becoming one heck of a running back. He’s physical, he’s elusive, he knows how to get yards, and obviously the offensive line is paving his way. So, it’s kind of who we are.”  Torres will likely be leaned on again to carry much of the offensive load, which worked last week in opening up the passing game for the Grizzlies. Senior quarterback Brandon Contreras only threw the ball eight times, but completed seven of those passes, three of them for touchdowns.  Last week’s win also gave Golden Valley a tie for the most wins in program history, a mark that the 2022 team set.  If the Grizzlies want to keep the momentum going — they’ve won four straight — Kelley said they’ll have to be able to capitalize on mistakes, as they did last week.  “We got the ball with a short field, and we were able to capitalize on that,” Kelley said. “We got a turnover on a fumble midfield, and we were able to turn that into points. So I mean, the ball did bounce our way last week, and we took advantage of it. Those type of things need to happen in the playoffs for you to be successful.”  And when things get tough, sometimes you have to create your own luck.  “You have to take some chances in the playoffs, because there’s no tomorrows if you don’t win,” Kelley said. “There’s no such thing as, ‘Oh, we don’t want to show our next opponent this,’ you know, because there might not be one.”  Calpreps, the ranking system used by the Southern Section to determine playoff divisions and seeding, gives Warren an 81% chance to win as of Tuesday afternoon, with a projected final score of 31-17 in favor of the Bears.  Friday’s game is set to kick off at 7 p.m. in Downey.  SCCS looking to take down state’s top squad  There’s no rest for the Cardinals, who go from one top 10 team in the Calpreps system to the No. 1 team in the state, Flintridge Prep.  With only eight teams in the Division 1 eight-man bracket, this second-round game represents the semifinals and a chance for a title game appearance.  The Wolves are averaging 50 points per game and haven’t given up more than 12 points in any game this year, but SCCS head coach Austin Fry is preparing for Saturday’s game looking to win.  SCCS quarterback Cayden Rappleye (18) tries to run through a hole in the Faith Baptist defense during Saturday’s first-round playoff matchup at Faith Baptist on Nov. 9, 2024. Photo courtesy of Lori Patton. “They have weaknesses, just like anybody else,” Fry said in a phone interview. “They’re gonna make mistakes, just like anybody else. And so it’s looking at, what are they giving to teams that teams aren’t taking advantage of, you know?”  Flintridge has impressive numbers, but so do the Cardinals, who are averaging just under 44 points per game while giving up 17.8 to opponents.  Seniors Cayden Rappleye and Jonathan Boelter were immense for SCCS in last week’s win over Faith Baptist, the latter running for a touchdown and then scoring on a screen pass later. Rappleye led the offense under center, running in one touchdown and hitting senior receiver Eli Duhm for a long touchdown.  The two teams faced off last year, with Flintridge coming out on top, 46-0. But Fry said the Cardinals were missing a few key players, which hurt some of the morale of the team.  This year, the Cardinals come into it on a five-game win streak, and after losing two games back-to-back early in the regular season, Fry said his players seem confident, but not arrogant.  “I think, had you asked me that question after week three, I probably would have said, ‘Yeah, we probably lean to be a little more too arrogant,’” Fry said, “but after that two-game losing streak, I think it’s just pure confidence and trust in each other … We know what team we can be, both good and bad. We have confidence that we can be the great team together.”  Saturday’s game is set to kick off at 1 p.m. at Canyon High School, giving Fry one less thing to worry about with no travel.  “Anytime we get to stay in town and go through our normal routine at our normal places in a big game like this, that’s a huge advantage,” Fry said.  Calpreps did not have projections for the eight-man playoff games.  The post Golden Valley, SCCS football look to keep playoff magic going in week two  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.