VALENCIA — Hart football beat Golden Valley 40-28 on Friday night, holding off a late Grizzlies rally after nearly surrendering a three-touchdown lead.
Hart played the Grizzlies in an intriguing Foothill League game, and it seemed like Hart was going to put the game away without much trouble when junior running back Matix Frithsmith outran pursuing defenders for a 12-yard touchdown to put Hart up 33-14 late in the third quarter.
But Hart’s third touchdown by Frithsmith, whom coach Jake Goossen-Brown calls a “hybrid” for his ability to play both running back and receiver, didn’t seal the game.
Golden Valley had a chance to cut into the lead when they were faced with a fourth-and-15 from Hart’s 31-yard line.
Senior quarterback Jayce Johnson scrambled to continue the play before finding receiver Ace Frias open for a 31-yard touchdown to cut Hart’s lead to 33-21 with 9:18 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Golden Valley recovered a surprise onside kick attempt to retain possession. Even with that, Hart forced the Grizzlies into a fourth-and-8 situation.
Johnson scrambled for a 22-yard touchdown to bring Golden Valley to within just five points with 7:49 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Grizzlies attempted another onside kick, and junior Bailey Hill recovered it, returning it all the way for a touchdown to increase Hart’s lead back to 40-28 with 7:43 left.
“Bailey Hill made a hell of a play,” Goossen-Brown said postgame.
“Another clutch play in the fourth quarter. That’s awesome to see when guys step up and make plays,” he added.
With about three minutes left, Johnson fell on a low snap for Golden Valley on a fourth-and-20 from Hart’s 30-yard line. Goossen-Brown complimented the defense after the game.
“It’s awesome to see that bend-but-don’t-break mentality that … we end up coming up and making some plays at the last second that were critical to our success in winning the game.”
Frithsmith, who finished with more than 150 total yards and three touchdowns for Hart on offense, said after the victory that his mindset was improving each day.
“Just keep stacking days,” he said. “We wanna be 1-0 each day. Just every day to get a little bit better each day.
“We’ve ran the ball great these past two games and just keep running the ball, offensive line just keep doing great, and Jacob in the pass game just getting the ball in our receivers’ hands to make plays.”
Hart improves to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in Foothill League play.
Golden Valley, despite the loss that dropped their record to 2-4 overall and 1-1 in league, showed that they could be a threat for one of Foothill’s three automatic playoff spots.
Hart will play West Ranch on the road next Friday, Oct. 3, while Golden Valley will move on to play Castaic on the road next Thursday, Oct. 2.