The Cents take umbrage

If Tuesday night was any indication, we are in for an exciting 2009 Foothill League girls basketball season. Saugus shocked Valencia at Valencia High 55-53 in a 32-minute battle of wills.

Canyon finds inspiration

The Canyon boys soccer team had a sack full of motivation coming into its league opener at West Ranch High. In typical fashion, Cowboys head coach Khris Savage took every opportunity to use it.

This is how it’s going to be

There's an imaginary geographical line that separates part of the Santa Clarita Valley. That line indicates whether one plays basketball for Saugus or Valencia high schools. It's a very thin marker, considering the rivalry these two teams fought down to the wire last season, with the Vikings grabbing the league crown by just one game.

Vikes bring it early and often

The Valencia girls soccer team opened Foothill League play with an emphatic statement Tuesday, storming into Saugus and scoring four goals before the first half was even 20 minutes old. The Vikings ended up with a 4-2 victory.

WR earns rare league victory

With only 10 league games, you must defend your home court. That was the point made by West Ranch Tuesday in its Foothill League-opening 61-49 victory against Canyon at West Ranch High.

New season, better start

At this time last year, the Golden Valley boys soccer team began to dig itself a hole. Chances are the Grizzlies are much happier with this season's start.

Young and Wise

The explanation as to why he loves the game is hard to come by. Simply, Trevor Wiseman just likes to hear the ripping sound as a basketball travels through a net.

Boys of winter: Who will rise?

For years, Foothill League boys basketball has had a definitive upper tier. But the talent seems to be spread across the league this season, and because of the parity, 2009 could be a different from the past.

The Detour

The road to a Foothill League championship in girls basketball has gone through Newhall Avenue. Hart High has won seven straight titles, including a share of the crown last year with Saugus.

The Roadblock

Hart High head basketball coach Zach Koebel goes one-on-one with a select few of his players at practice. Megan Ford, now a center at Cal Poly Pomona, was one of his favorites last year in his first season leading the Indians.

The last team standing

Talk to any coach and they will tell you the same thing. Whoever finishes as the league champions will have been the last team standing.

Whatever it takes

As Erin Ortega goes, so does Saugus. In her fourth year on the Centurions' varsity squad, the senior has done whatever it takes for the team to be successful. It is because of that attitude that she will spend her second consecutive season as a team captain. "They follow her lead, and that is good because she never lets down," says head coach Lisa Rollo. And 2009 is no different. Coming into the season, Ortega ...

Defense wins championships

If you don't recognize Foothill League boys soccer this season, you're not alone. Graduation losses, stylistic overhauls and new head coaches are rampant in the Santa Clarita Valley this season, and amid all the change, defense remains a stabilizing element of success. That's how first-year West Ranch coach Mo Burgess sees it. "Our team goal is to shut somebody out to zero shots in a game," he said. "It's not just a shutout. We want ...

That old cliché

In soccer, defense is a thankless position. There's no goal-scoring glitz like there is for strikers. Defenders aren't the fulcrum of the entire team like the midfield. If you make a mistake, it's amplified. But if you do your job, it's often underappreciated.

Final tune-up

A year ago, West Ranch jumped right into league play after the long holiday layoff, and the rust showed.

Saugus baseball holds off Valencia

So much for the possibility of a frontrunner emerging early in the Foothill League.

West Ranch baseball back on track

The West Ranch Wildcats didn't panic after losing their first two Foothill League games.

Golden Valley High hires boys hoops coach

The most unstable coaching jobs in the Santa Clarita Valley over the last couple of years took steps toward stability on Friday.

Foothill League trio turns it on early in track and field opener

SCV Hoops Finale almost here

By Cary Osborne

Saugus volleyball ends Valencia's 112 match Foothill winning streak

Hart swim storms out of gate, Valencia sweeps Golden Valley

The Hart Indians swim team didn't waste much time flexing its muscle in opening up the Foothill League season.

West Ranch baseball picks up first Foothill League win of 2013

Regardless of how West Ranch Wildcats baseball got the win, the important thing is it got the win. The Wildcats are now on the board in Foothill League play after a 10-1 win over the Golden Valley Grizzlies on Wednesday at Golden Valley High. "It's a win and we needed to have one," said West Ranch head coach Casey Burrill. "If we want to find ourselves at the end of the season competing for a ...

Bats carry Canyon High baseball over Saugus

The Canyon Cowboys baseball team stuck to its script on Wednesday afternoon. Once again, Canyon's bats got hot early and the Cowboys jumped out to an early lead en route to a 9-4 victory over the Saugus Centurions at Canyon High School. Canyon (7-3 overall, 2-1 Foothill League) was aggressive from the start, scoring four first-inning runs to put Saugus in an early hole. Canyon starting pitcher Max Weinstein held up his end as well, ...

Valencia baseball puts it all together

There's a reason why many people thought going into Foothill League baseball play that the Valencia Vikings were the team to beat.

West Ranch's Kevin Harris chooses UCSD

West Ranch senior guard and 2013 Foothill League Boys Basketball Player of the Year Kevin Harris committed this week to play basketball for the University of California, San Diego. Harris averaged 19 points per game in Foothill League play leading the Wildcats to their first-ever outright league title. He was also an All-Foothill League and The Signal All-Santa Clarita Valley first-teamer as a junior. Harris, a 4.08 GPA student, had other interest, according to West ...

Canyon track and field's Devin Baldwin: Endless tenacity