Football defeats rival Raiders, extends perfect season

Quay Owen

Hurdling his opponent, junior Derrick Spencer receives a hand off and attempts to get a first down against Randall.

The varsity football team continued their winning streak with a win over the Randall Raiders. Canyon will play Dumas tomorrow in the homecoming game at 7 p.m.

Randall started the game quickly, scoring after only four plays. Senior quarterback Blake Weaver responded with an eight-yard keeper to tie the game at 7-7. A 60-yard touchdown run and field goal gave Randall a ten-point lead with just under ten minutes to play in the first half. An 88-yard kickoff return by junior Derrick Spencer set up an eight-yard touchdown run by Weaver. Canyon trailed 17-24 at halftime.

A 25-yard touchdown pass to senior Autry Dowd tied the game at 24-24 to begin the second half. Canyon recovered a fumble on Randall’s 34-yard line, and another pass to Dowd put the Eagles up 31-24. Junior Ryan Guevara kicked a 32-yard field goal before a one-yard touchdown run by Weaver put Canyon up 40-24 at the end of the third quarter. A 64-yard touchdown for the Raiders followed by a successful two-point conversion made the score 40-32 with two minutes left in the game. Canyon recovered an onside kick attempt on the Eagle’s 41-yard line. A 52-yard touchdown by Weaver ended the game with a final score of 47-32.

“In the first half, the defense struggled a bit,” Weaver said. “Their offense threw some things at us that we weren’t ready for. At halftime we made a few adjustments, moved some players around and changed the roles of some players. That just shows the talent of our defense being able to make adjustments with just a short period of time.”

Weaver said that all of the momentum switched in the second half after Canyon’s second drive.

“There was a little bit of added pressure against Randall,” Weaver said. “Everybody in the school wants to beat them. Everyone expects you to play your best football at this time since its district.”

Weaver said that Dumas is a good football team, but, with a smiled, added that he guarantees a win.

“They are very aggressive,” Weaver said. “We’re going to have to come out and play the way we’ve been playing all year.”