Football Game Preview: Grossmont Foothillers vs. Valhalla Norsemen

For the first time this season, Grossmont will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. They will host the Valhalla Norsemen at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Grossmont will be strutting in after a victory while Valhalla will be coming in after a loss.

Grossmont is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing Mira Mesa: they outscored them in every quarter. The Foothillers put the hurt on the Marauders with a sharp 36-13 win on Friday. The Foothillers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three games by 22 points or more this season.

AJ Hooker was his usual excellent self, rushing for 189 yards and two scores while picking up 9.0 yards per carry. Tyler Holmes was another key player, rushing for 57 yards and a pair of TDs.

They were just one part of a punishing run game: Grossmont was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 366 rushing yards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their rushing yard total in three consecutive contests.

On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Grossmont's defense and their five sacks. Leading the way was Ryder Robinson with three.

Meanwhile, Valhalla was not able to break out of their rough patch last Friday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They had to suffer through a 58-6 loss at the hands of Steele Canyon. While losing is never fun, the Norsemen can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 776th, while the Cougars are ranked 154th).

Grossmont's victory bumped their record up to 4-1. As for Valhalla, their loss dropped their record down to 1-4.

Everything came up roses for Grossmont against Valhalla in their previous matchup back in October of 2019, as the team secured a 49-14 win. In that matchup, the Foothillers amassed a halftime lead of 35-7, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.