The action is fast and furious around the Valley this week, with some intriguing matchups set to take place. It all kicks off in the early afternoon when Panorama goes on the road against an East Valley school looking to avoid an upset. In San Fernando, two teams will battle hungry for their first win of 2025, while just down the street, another interleague matchup features a Valley Mission school looking to move to 3-0. An undermanned East Valley juggernaut looks to derail an up-and-coming team seeking to remain unblemished in the young season, while a West Valley squad seeks its second win of the season against a Southern Section foe. Here are the games you need to see around the SFV this week:

Panorama Pythons (2-0) at Fulton Jaguars (0-1) 9/5, 4 pm kickoff, at Fulton Prep High School

The Pythons have looked impressive through their first two victories of the season and fully expect to make it three in a row when they head out on the road this week. Fulton shut Panorama out 7-0 last season when the Jags got off to a hot start in their first season back in 11-man football. The Pythons are planning to repay the favor when these two meet on Friday afternoon.

#24 Arleta Mustangs (1-1) at Taft Toreadors (2-0) 9/5, 7 pm kickoff, at Taft High School

The Mustangs are a bit undermanned heading into this game, but if you are familiar with this program and their tough-nosed philosophies, they will not use it as an excuse. Despite dressing only 22 players on the road at Cleveland last week, Arleta still managed to put 37 points on the board before they ran out of gas, and the Cavs pulled away. The Toreadors are one of the pleasant surprises of the season, and they look like a team that could be ready to take that next step in the West Valley. A win would give Taft its first 3-0 start since 2008.

Poly Parrots (0-1) at San Fernando Tigers (2-0), 9/5, 7 pm kickoff, at San Fernando High School

The Tigers have come roaring into the season and look to make a statement that the Valley Mission League is not a forgone conclusion. They will face a tough test this week with the Poly Parrots, who are looking to avoid going 0-2 to start their season with a win on the road. The best part about matchups like this in the early season is the familiarity. Despite playing in different leagues, these squads know each other well, and that usually makes for a tight ballgame. I would expect more of the same here. San Fernando sweated out a 30-29 victory when these two met at Poly last season.

Sylmar Spartans (0-1) at Chavez Eagles (0-2), 9/5, 7 pm kickoff, at CCLA

An intriguing matchup takes place at CCLA on Friday night between Sylmar and Chavez. Both teams are searching for their first victory of 2025, but this game is more than just getting your first win under your belt. It is also about not falling too far off the pace when you play in competitive conferences. A loss for the Eagles means falling to 0-3 and risking falling off the D-III bubble, leaving no margin for error heading into East Valley League play next week. Sylmar wants to build positive momentum, knowing league play is around the corner, and all the teams that they will jostle for position with in the Valley Mission have started the season off fast. (Canoga, Panorama, and Van Nuys are all 2-0.) Expect a highly competitive fight between these two teams on Friday night.

Crespi Celts (2-0) at Cleveland Cavaliers (1-1), 9/5, 7 pm kickoff, at Cleveland High School

The Cavaliers had some questions to answer about where their offense would come from after their Week Zero performance at Harvard-Westlake. Those questions were answered in the form of Julio Avalos’ competent performance at quarterback and a huge rushing performance by Moyosoreoluwa Odebunmi in their 70-point offensive explosion against a banged-up Arleta team. While the Mustangs’ lack of depth puts the game into perspective, it doesn’t change the fact that it was what the Cavs needed to see to remain confident they were still a championship-caliber squad. The competition takes a big step up when the Celts come to play this week, but the confidence level of Cleveland must be in a different place today than it was a week ago when Domenik Fuentes went down to injury during the Harvard-Westlake game.