Golden Valley is 7-0 for the first time in school history as Cougars hold off Atwater late
There was some nervous moments late, but the Golden Valley High football team was able to hold off Atwater 45-37 on Friday night at Veterans Stadium.
With the victory, the Cougars improve to 7-0 for the first time in school history and it sets up a big game next week against Patterson in a battle of the last two unbeaten teams in the Central California Conference.
“We’ve never been in a battle like that before so I’m glad our team pushed through and had the energy,” said Golden Valley running back Jahkylle Smith. “Without conditioning the energy wouldn’t have been there.”
Down the stretch, the Cougars (7-0 overall, 3-0 CCC) leaned on Smith and the running game to stave off a Falcons team that never stopped coming.
Smith carried the ball 24 times for 211 yards and three touchdowns, including two scores in the fourth quarter that helped the Cougars pull out the victory.
It’s the third time this season Smith has topped 200 yards rushing and increased his season total to 15 rushing touchdowns.
“For me, my coaches, my quarterback, everybody, we can trust the line,” Smith said. “Our line is going to push forward for me.”
The Falcons (2-6 overall, 1-3 CCC) pulled to within 25-24 early in the fourth quarter after a 38-yard field goal by Grayson Soto.
After having mixed results in the passing game through the first three quarters, Golden Valley went almost exclusively to the ground game in the fourth quarter. Fifteen of the Cougars’ 16 plays in the fourth quarter were running plays, which resulted in 180 yards and three touchdowns.
Smith carried the ball 11 times for 96 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter alone. Golden Valley quarterback Eleazar Garza rushed four times for 84 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown run.
Garza finished completed 10 of 17 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns to go along with 111 yards rushing on 13 carries.
“They’ve got big boys up front,” said Atwater coach Seneca Ybarra. “I coached (at Golden Valley) and I never seen guys who were that big. After a couple quarters and those big boys are leaning on you. You’ve got a nice shifty back, the quarterback is real shifty, those guys in space are electric.”
The Falcons never quit.
Senior receiver Colton Dukes, who was the CCC MVP in basketball last season, went up and pulled down two jump balls for touchdown catches of 31 and 29 yards. Dukes finished with six catches for 131 yards.
Falcons running back Josue Garcia added 133 yards on the ground, including a 5-yard touchdown run, on 19 carries.
Atwater quarterback Tyler Parr added a 45-yard touchdown run that pulled the Falcons within 32-20 with 8:07 left in the game.
Parr later threw his third touchdown of the game with a 13-yard strike to Soto to cut the Cougars’ lead to 39-37 with just over 5 minutes remaining.
The Atwater defense just couldn’t make the key stops late.
Smith’s 1-yard touchdown run gave Golden Valley a 45-37 lead that sealed the victory with 26 seconds left on the clock.
“The kids never gave up, kept believing,” Ybarra said. “I know we lost but, your team fights to the very end. I’m not into moral victories, but the kids played hard and as a coach what more can you ask for?”
Golden Valley coach Rick Martinez liked the way his team responded in their first close contest since the opening week.
“I was very pleased,” Martinez said. “Our kids were a little tightened up. They’ve been used to winning by 20, 35 points, but I think it’s a good game for us before we get into Patterson.”
This story was originally published October 8, 2022 at 12:40 AM.
