Canyon slips past Western in thriller

ANAHEIM - Canyon has been through a lot of drama in only two weeks.

The Comanches lost by one point to Fullerton last week, when their attempt for a 2-point conversion failed with no time remaining.

On Thursday, Canyon scored a touchdown with 16 seconds left and beat Western, 17-14, in a nonleague game at Western. Canyon is 1-1, and it was the season opener for Western.

Winning was not the only change for the Comanches from last week to this week. They rushed for minus-13 yards and passed for 213 against Fullerton, but rushed for 185 yards and passed for 58 against Western.

Kyle Rodriguez led Canyon with 103 yards on 21 carries, and made a big play on defense in the fourth quarter.

Western had a 14-9 lead when the Pioneers faced a fourth-and-4 at Canyon's 35-yard line with five minutes left. Quarterback Patrick Campbell was chased out of the pocket by Canyon defenders and tackled by Rodriguez for a 15-yard loss at the 50.

Canyon then ran 11 running plays, with the last a 1-yard touchdown sneak by quarterback Beau Perry with 16 seconds to go. A pass from Perry to Nick Prescott for two points gave the Comanches the 17-14 lead.

On the kickoff, Western's Ruben Ortega took a pitch and ran to the Pioneers' 42, but the pitch was ruled an illegal forward pass to put Western back at its 5. A pass for 10 yards and a sack ended the comeback attempt.

Canyon coach Brent McKee was proud of the way the Comanches bounced back from last week's loss and from a 14-3 first-half deficit Thursday.

"The guys really fought back," he said. "They showed a lot of character. Like I told them, you can't fold it up this early in the season."

Western had a big first half, with two-time Orange League player of the year Ortega scoring on touchdown runs of 1 and 80 yards. Canyon got a 31-yard field goal from Steven Howard in the half.

The Comanches had two excellent chances for first-half touchdowns. On third-and-goal at the Western 7, Perry was sacked by Brandon Raduenz for a 7-yard loss, leaving Canyon with Howard's field goal.

On fourth-and-goal at the Western 1 with three seconds to go, Rodriguez was tackled for no gain by Ortega and Campbell.

Campbell also made a diving interception at Western's 6 in the third quarter.

Canyon's offensive line of Jacob Broaddus, Scott Grosser, Brian Hittner, Tyler Johnson and Manny Juarez, and tight end Lafayette Neal, controlled the line of scrimmage in the second half.

Canyon opened the half with a 67-yard drive that ended with a 7-yard touchdown run by Josh Seiler that cut Western's lead to 14-9. The Comanches did the same on the drive that produced Perry's touchdown.