Football Recap: Golden Valley's Win Ends Four-Game Losing Streak on the Road

Golden Valley played against Atwater on Friday and won via forfeit.

Isaiah Welch

Rushing Yards

10/17/25 @ Atwater	112
10/10/25 vs Buhach Colony	87
08/29/25 vs Tokay	83
09/05/25 @ Elk Grove	77
10/03/25 @ Merced	32
+ 2 more games

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Golden Valley to victory, but perhaps none more so than Isaiah Welch, who rushed for 112 yards and three TDs. Welch has become a key player for the Cougars: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least 80 rushing yards, but 0-5 otherwise. Gab Richards was another key player, rushing for 92 yards on only 12 carries.

They were just one part of a punishing run game: Golden Valley was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 211 rushing yards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 75.6 rushing yards per game earlier this season, but in their last five games they've averaged 159.7.

Ali Banks Jr and Durrell Morrison certainly did their best on Friday to avoid the loss. Banks Jr rushed for 83 yards and one touchdown on only ten carries, while Morrison rushed for 64 yards and one score on only nine carries.

Golden Valley's win ended a four-game drought on the road and puts them at 2-6. As for Atwater, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-4.

Golden Valley has already played their next matchup (against Los Banos), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing. Atwater also has no score uploaded for their next contest, this one against Merced.