ORANGE – Kids in yellow, blue and green shirts stand on the sideline, flashing hand signals as Canyon quarterback Jason Harman receives the play call from behind center.
The senior then reads the defense. Where are the linebackers? The defensive ends? Is that cornerback giving too much cushion?
Harman makes snap decisions every play. There are right ones, he said, and there are wrong ones.
Friday night, his decision-making kept Canyon’s offense purring, and the Comanches defeated Troy, 24-21, in a season opener at El Modena High.
“Troy’s a tough team,” said Harman, who not only completed 18 of 29 passes for 225 yards but also ran for 60 on 12 carries. “But our defense really stepped up in the fourth quarter.”
Canyon returns many players from a team that reached the CIF-SS Southern Division semifinals last year. Second-year Comanches coach Mike Ogas said in Charlie Treanor, Trace Hobbs and Michael Freeman, he has seniors who grind.
Freeman, in particular, carried the offense in the second half. The senior running back spelled an injured Treanor late, and finished with 71 yards on 16 carries.
“It’s great having a Jason Harman, a Charlie Treanor, a Trace Hobbs, a Noah White,” Ogas said. “But we have guys that will step up when they’re needed.”
Canyon led, 24-7, at halftime, Treanor scoring on two short runs and Harman connecting with White for a 13-yard TD.
On multiple occasions, Harmon hit White on broken routes. White had eight catches for 110 yards.
“Noah’s my best friend,” Harman said, “and that helps a lot. We’re always throwing the ball around.”
Troy started sophomore Josiah Norwood and he held his own. He completed six passes to Ryan Scotti, and finished with 186 passing yards.
Contact the writer: bwhitehead@ocregister.com
