CANADIAN – On an unseasonably cool first Friday in September, it shouldn’t have been much of a surprise that old non-district rivals Canadian and Bushland engaged in something of a throwback.
With football weather suddenly back in vogue, both programs generally known for their explosive offenses, particularly throwing the ball, defenses generally controlled the middle part of the game. It was home team Canadian, though, who plowed through it the best.
Sophomore Weston Mitchell threw three touchdown passes to senior Riggs Pennington as the Wildcats beat Bushland 24-14 in a game where points didn’t come all that easily. Canadian remained undefeated on the young season at 2-0 while Bushland fell to 1-1.
It’s no surprise for scoreboards to light up when these two teams meet, but Canadian coach Andy Cavalier, a veteran of this game, knows never to predict anything.
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“Nothing in this game surprises me,” Cavalier said. “I’ve been in this game 12 years now and every one of them has been hard-fought with nothing easy. We are both known for high-powered offenses but we’re also known for playing really good defenses. There were lots of ebbs and flows and no doubt winning a game like this feels good.”
The offensive shootout angle seemed fairly obvious from the get-go, as both teams scored on their first possession and offensive fireworks seemed inevitable. Mitchell hit Pennington on a 49-yard scoring pass to give the Wildcats a 7-0- lead 86 seconds into the game, and the Falcons responded with a scoring drive less than four minutes later, concluded by a 2-yard run by Bryson Jimenez to tie it 7-7.
After that, though, both defenses made some fourth down stops and Canadian lost a pair of fumbles, including one on a botched pitch by Mitchell when Canadian had the ball at Bushland’s 6-yard line. The Wildcats, who had taken a 14-7 lead on a 29-yard pass from Mitchell to Pennington 15 seconds into the second quarter, couldn’t break the game open.
The MItchell-to-Pennington connection was the most reliable element for either offense. Pennington had nine catches for 175 yards.
“We have our play cards and it was just getting the job done I guess,” Pennington said. “Without our scout team it wouldn’t have been possible. We are all very close and very good friends and something clicked tonight. I think it’s a pretty big win, but we made a lot of mistakes and we’ve got to learn from them.”
Mitchell assumes the unenviable mantle of continuing Canadian’s stellar quarterback position, but so far he appears up to it. Against Bushland, he completed 30-of-39 passes for 345 yards.
Those numbers indicate that Mitchell spread the ball around effectively, as four receivers had at least four catches. But it was the 6-foot-6 Pennington who most consistently caught Mitchell’s eye down the field.
“Last week we had a lot of jitters, but this week we came out hot and got them out,” Mitchell said. “I see Riggs down there wide open and I get happy. I know I can throw it up to him and he’ll go make a play. When a guy has six inches on everyone else it makes me feel great to know I can get it to him.”
The Wildcats extended their lead to 17-7 on a 29-yard field goal by Fabian Diaz with 2:46 left in the half, but Bushland responded when Kannon Aven hit Colton Strickland with 19-yard touchdown pass with 14 seconds left in the half to cut it to 17-14 at halftime.
It looked as if the shootout would materialize in the second half. However, the third quarter was scoreless as neither team was able to take advantage of favorable field position.
“We’ve had a lot of great games with Canadian over the years and they’re all different,” Bushland coach Josh Reynolds said. “We’ve had some wild shootouts and we’ve had some comebacks and low-scoring games. Two of their touchdowns were on fourth down plays and both defenses played well.”
Mitchell threw his third scoring pass to Pennington from 7 yards out with 10:33 left in the game and that was it for the scoring. Bushland didn’t seriously threaten the rest of the way and Canadian wound down the clock by effectively running the ball.
Canadian’s Slayden Dickinson had a game-high 122 yards on 21 carries, the bulk of those coming in the second half.
Jenner King had a big game catching the ball for Bushland as well with 11 catches for 121 yards. The Wildcats stifled Bushland on the ground though, as the Falcons ran for only 64 yards.
“I think everybody on the team would tell you there was a lot of work that went in throughout the week to create those opportunities for the offense,” Cavalier said.
Canadian racked up 454 yards of offense.