BREA – Canyon used a couple of disguised – some call them trick – plays to key two touchdowns and a stout defense inside the 20-yard line to take a 28-9 victory over Brea Olinda on Friday night in a nonleague game at Brea Olinda.
It was the second straight victory for the Comanches (2-3) and the second straight loss for the Wildcats (3-2), ranked No. 21 in the county and No. 5 in CIF-SS Division 8.
Canyon’s first touchdown was a 20-yard pass from wide receiver John Bader to Christopher Tsirtsis for a 7-0 lead following Max Meyers’ kick with five minutes left in the first quarter.
The Comanches had driven from their 27-yard line to the Brea 20 and faced a second-and-5. Bader rolled out to the right and found Tsirtsis in the end zone.
Canyon’s second touchdown for a 14-0 lead in the first quarter was more conventional. Starting at midfield, quarterback Anthony Marquez completed consecutive passes of 15 yards to tight end Christian Downey and back-to-back 18- and 15-yard passes to receiver Bryce Bowen, who scored on the second reception.
Canyon’s second out-of-the-bag play came on its third touchdown drive. Faced with fourth-and-4 at the Brea 48, Bowen lined up in punt formation. He found 6-foot-2, 263-pound tight end Joshua Tarango wide open over the middle for 18 yards.
Cole Nequette scored on a 6-yard run five plays later to lift Canyon to a 21-0 lead. The big gainers on the drive were a 17-yard pass from Marquez to Tsirtsis and a 15-yard run by Tarango.
Brea didn’t have a first down until five minutes remained in the first half. The Wildcat put together a 65-yard drive on 13 plays with Noah Rivera scoring on a 9-yard run with 46 seconds left in the first half.
Brea recovered a fumble with 34 seconds remaining in the half and reached the 5 with a first down. But a spike by quarterback Dylan Flenniken and two incomplete passes forced a field goal attempt, which failed from a bad snap.
Brea also had a drive to the Canyon 15 that ended with Luke Meyer’s 31-yard field goal and a drive to the Comanches’ 2 that ended with an interception.
