Season schedule has familiar look for Crescenta Valley

In the whole new world that is the CIF Southern Section postseason landscape across all sports, the upcoming 2016 fall sports season will be one characterized by massive change.

If Crescenta Valley High’s football team advances to the playoffs for the third straight season, it will take part in Division VI among a cadre of unfamiliar potential opponents from all across Southern California.

But if the Falcons do make it into the new-look postseason, they’ll do so after navigating the same old regular season schedule.

Aside from the accustomed flip-flop of home and away games and the Pacific League’s seasonal transfer of the order of opponents, all remains the same for the Falcons as it relates to their schedule.

Their nonleague slate from the first week through the third will see old foes Verdugo Hills, Golden Valley and La Cañada before embarking on Pacific League play with its opener against Glendale.

Crescenta Valley is looking to build off a 7-4 campaign in 2015 that ended with a 58-19 loss to Cathedral in the Southeast Division first round. It was the Falcons’ third consecutive winning season.

It came, however, in the shadows of a 2014 season that was arguably the greatest in area history as the Falcons went 14-0 with a Southeast title win, the program’s second CIF championship.

The 2015 season saw the Falcons begin with a 37-17 win at Verdugo Hills, prevailing in the rivalry game for the third consecutive season and seventh straight time overall in the rivalry.

Crescenta Valley kicks off again against the Dons (3-7 last season) on Thursday, Sept. 1 at Glendale High’s Moyse Field.

It will be the first of six Falcons games on their home field at Glendale High as is often the case as the Falcons share the field with Glendale and Hoover. The game against Verdugo, however, will be the only contest of the season for the Falcons on a Thursday, with each following matchup on Friday.

After opening up against the Dons, the Falcons have a nonleague game that is likely circled on the calendar.

Last season, Crescenta Valley’s 16-game winning streak came to an end at home against Golden Valley, a program long recognized for its struggles as it had never posted a .500 season or won a game in its Foothill League. But, the Grizzlies defeated the Falcons, 39-20. While it signified perhaps the changing of times for the Falcons, it did the same for Golden Valley, which turned in a 6-4 season and a 2-3 league mark.

“That’s a big game, we really kind of dropped the ball against them last year,” Schilling said. “That game’s a good indicator of how good we’re going to be.”

Crescenta Valley’s nonleague slate will conclude on Sept. 16 at home against La Cañada.

The Spartans (4-6) lost, 35-3, to the Falcons a season ago. It was the ninth win in nine seasons for Crescenta Valley in the rivalry with six of those victories, including the last five, by double-digits.

Then comes the Pacific League, with the Falcons, led by a heavily experienced core featuring all-purpose standouts Ty Hill and Brandon Beardt and defensive lineman Nobel LeDuc, looking to win a league title.

Early prognostications view Crescenta Valley as a contender with Burbank the likely favorite and Burroughs in the mix with Arcadia and Muir seemingly the biggest wild cards.

“I’d think it’d be the three of us,” said Schilling of the Bulldogs, Indians and Falcons, “and Arcadia and Muir being, maybe, the question marks.”

Crescenta Valley will begin Pacific League play with the “Battle for the Gong” against Glendale (1-9) on Sept. 23 with the Nitros serving as the home team. The Falcons delivered a 59-7 lambasting last season against the Nitros for their third straight win in the rivalry.

The Falcons then conclude the Moyse Field-home team round robin when they host Hoover (2-8), which lost to Crescenta Valley, 49-0, last year.

Thus, the Falcons will open league play against the two teams that finished in seventh and eighth place last year in the eight-team Pacific League. Two seasons ago, Crescenta Valley opened up against Burroughs and Burbank and last year opened up with Burbank. So, the question looms if it’s better to open up against stronger competition to see where your team stands from the get-go or to begin against competition that your team has historically dominated.

Schilling was diplomatic.

“It can kind of go both ways,” Schilling said.

Following the Sept. 30 meeting at home against Hoover, Crescenta Valley travels to play at Muir on Oct. 7.

A historically arduous setting to play at, Muir struggled last year to a 3-7 record that included a 40-27 loss to Crescenta Valley that was the Falcons’ second straight win in the rivalry.

Crescenta Valley will host Pasadena on Oct. 14. The Bulldogs (5-5) lost to the Falcons, 41-14, a season ago, marking CV’s fourth straight victory in the rivalry.

Then, Crescenta Valley embarks on what is likely to be its most daunting stretch of the season with a home game on Oct. 21 against Burroughs, last season’s Pacific League champion, followed by a game at Burbank on Oct. 28 and the season-ending rivalry tilt at Arcadia on Nov. 4.

“It is nice to have Burroughs at home,” said Schilling of playing the Indians, who went 10-2 a season ago, including a 34-3 win over the Falcons.

However, all told, Crescenta Valley has road games against Muir, Burbank (6-5) and Arcadia (5-5). As imposing as it might be, though, Schilling does have a historical note on his side.

“It’s the same schedule of our 14-0 year,” said Schilling, whose Falcons lost to Burbank, 7-3, and beat Arcadia, 28-27, a season ago. “This year is definitely the harder [home and away] schedule.”