Golden Valley reloading after CIF run

By Justin Vigil-Zuniga Signal Sports Writer

Golden Valley is one of a few local teams that graduated a large, decorated senior class. However, the Grizzlies are the only team that reached a CIF championship and will retain a bulk of their core heading into 2023.

Head coach Dan Kelley enters year 10 with the Grizzly program with 50 wins already on his resume. The coach has only finished under .500 three times at Golden Valley, and even with a loaded senior class gone, the expectations are still high.

“Having that season we had last year gives the kids something to play for,” Kelley said. “The best thing for your program is to win

The Numbers

1,952 ball games. These guys, they feel the pressure, they’re trying to match that or do better. So we’ll see how it goes. We’re not gonna sit here talking about it. We’re gonna go out and do it.”

Returning is running back tandem Julian Rios and Isaiah Orozco. The two are senior Swiss army knives as we’ll also see Rios in the while adding five touchdowns last season while Orozco led the running backs with 5.3 yards per carry. On offense, the two, along with running back Ricky Gonzalez, will look to overshadow those marks with the big Grizzly front clearing the way. Cantrell Smith, Jacob Martinez and Adedamola Olabode are just a few of Kelley’s strong offensive linemen.

“We’re looking to run the ball