An explosive start, big plays, lead changes and late heroics. A recipe so good that even Mother Nature wanted to take part, and indeed, she got involved.
The non-district bout between Canyon and Caprock had just about everything and anything in between, before the Eagles turned away the Longhorns in a suspenseful 34-28 decision on Thursday night at Happy State Bank Stadium.
Canyon junior quarterback Brox Hacker and Caprock senior quarterback Juan De La Cruz led the charge down the closing stretch. With 7:29 to go, De La Cruz scored a nine yard, go-ahead touchdown for Caprock. Hacker answered the call at the 3:46 mark, finishing off an Eagle drive with a 16-yard touchdown run.
Hacker finished the night by going 9-of-16 for 124 yards and one touchdown, while leading the Eagles on the ground with 89 yards and the aforementioned late touchdown on 17 carries. All together, Canyon accumulated 226 total rushing yards.
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“(Caprock) knew that we had the run set up all night,” Hacker said. “But that didn’t stop our whole line and my running backs from providing and getting us through.”
One minute and 46 seconds later, the Canyon defensive unit brought down De La Cruz short of the sticks on fourth down, which allowed the home team to bounce back into the win column.
“That was the biggest play of the night, for sure,” Hacker said. “That (stop) won us the game.”
Due to the exhilarating victory, the Eagles moved to 3-1 overall. Canyon head coach Todd Winfrey knew that there is plenty of work to be done, but was happy to capture another win.
“We didn’t tackle great (against Caprock),” Winfrey said, following the game. “Some of that was on us, and some of that is credit to them being pretty dang good athletes. But we had that mentality of ‘next play,’ and that’s what our defense did. The scariest thing we did was score with time left on the clock, but our defense stepped up. It wasn’t the greatest performance, but we found a way to win. There’s a lot to be said for that.”
At 7 p.m., next Friday, Canyon will welcome Piedra Vista of Farmington, N.M., into Happy State Bank Stadium. The No. 9-ranked (MaxPreps/NMAA) Panthers (3-1) will be coming off of a bye week, after defeating No. 10-ranked Alamogordo by way of a 21-14 outcome held last Saturday at Hutchison Stadium in Farmington, N.M.
The upcoming matchup is a loaded one for the purple and black. It’ll be the Eagles’ final nondistrict game and homecoming contest, all in one package.
“We’re going to put a game plan together and try to beat (Piedra Vista), but we’re still trying to focus on us,” said Winfrey. “We got to focus on the Canyon Eagles, because we’re still not the best version of us. We need to be. (Piedra Vista) caught a lot of fans by surprise on how good they were last year, and I believe they’re better this year. We’re going to have all we want on homecoming.”
Hacker echoed his head coach when it came to self-improvement amidst all of the festivities.
“We just have to keep our minds right and show out,” Hacker said.
Caprock dropped to a 1-3 record. According to Caprock head coach Rowdy Freeman, the Longhorns’ latest setback stung. However, his team displayed resolve and almost snatched victory from the maw of defeat.
“I’m starting to see a group of guys who are buying into playing for the guy next to them,” Freeman said. “They’re starting to understand that. I’m starting to see some growth and maturity, and I hate to see the kids hurt. I hate to see the kids cry, but I know that this means something to them. All of the hard work, all of the energy — I’m super proud of the way these guys played. You hear it and it’s cliché, but maybe we just ran out of time.”
The Longhorns begin district play at 7 p.m. next Friday, when they bring Abilene High into Dick Bivins Stadium. Instead of worrying about the upcoming opponent, Freeman wants his team to focus on getting better each day.
“We just have to worry about ourselves right now, regardless of who’s coming up and regardless of who’s on the schedule,” said Freeman. “We want to make sure that by the time Friday rolls around, we’ve won Monday, we’ve won Tuesday, we’ve won Wednesday and we’ve won Thursday.”
The game started off with a bang, beginning with De La Cruz connecting with sophomore wideout Canon Polivoda for a 72 yard touchdown. At the 7:16 mark, the Longhorns jumped out to a 7-0 lead.
Canyon used the more methodical approach, driving down the field in the following possession. Senior running back Rudy Flores powered his way into the endzone from four yards, tying the game up at 7-7 with 3:48 left in the first quarter.
Caprock put another score in short order, set up by a big 54-yard run from senior running back Xavier Vargas. With 2:45 to go in the initial period, De La Cruz scored from 11 yards out.
As the first quarter transitioned into the second, Caprock grasped onto a 14-7 lead.
The Eagles put together another strong march, until Flores fought his way into the endzone from seven yards away at the 10:56 mark. The Longhorns did block the extra point attempt, as their lead narrowed from seven to one at 14-13.
Before officials suspended the game due to nearly lightning strikes, Hacker pump faked and caught senior receiver Bayler Schilling on a slant. Schilling then turned on the jets for a 38-yard touchdown, which granted the Eagles a 20-14 lead with 6:39 remaining until half.
From 7:50 p.m. to 9 p.m., players and coaches took to their respective locker rooms while fans sheltered in their vehicles. It wasn’t until one second remaining until intermission when points were added to the videoboard.
With one second left until the break, sophomore Lane Burton split the uprights from 41 yards out. Burton’s first career field goal not only caused a celebration within the Canyon ranks, it boosted the Eagles’ lead to 23-14 heading into the locker room.
Caprock started the second half by trimming their deficit, finishing off their drive with a 13-yard touchdown scamper from De La Cruz. With 7:34 to go in the third quarter, Caprock trailed by two at 23-21.
The Longhorns did force Canyon to put in their next possession, but a muffed punt allowed the Eagles to get within striking distance of the end zone. Caprock’s defense held Canyon, however, forcing the purple and black to attempt a 42-yard field goal.
Burton’s boot barely cleared the crossbar, stretching the Eagles’ lead to five at 26-21 with 46 seconds left in the period. Burton’s second field goal caused the sophomore to celebrate wildly, before Winfrey wrangled in the young kicker.
“He’s a young buck,” Winfrey said. “I know he was excited, but we tell our team all of the time to do your job. Part of your job is just doing it, that’s the expectation. You can’t fault the kid (for celebrating). We have to have those growth moments.”
For Freeman, holding the Eagles to three kept his team in the game.
“That’s a win,” said Freeman. “When you have an offense like coach Winfrey has over there, where they just mash and exert their will on people, to hold them to just three gives you a fighting chance. It could have turned in a hurry, but we held them and it kind of recharged our batteries.”
That jolt allowed the Longhorns to score a go-ahead touchdown with 7:29 left in the game. Before De La Cruz found a seam and struck paydirt from three yards out, the Caprock offense converted two fourth downs.
Down by two at 28-26, the Eagles were left with plenty of time to operate. Thanks to Hacker’s touchdown and a two-point conversion from junior running back Austin Turner, the Eagles regained the lead at 34-28.
Winfrey praised his quarterback.
“I’m proud of the way that he didn’t try to do too much,” Winfrey said of Hacker’s performance. “We still have plenty to work on, but I thought he protected the football very well. He executed well, and he made the throws he had to.”
Caprock had one more chance to steal the game with a late score. However, the Canyon defense swarmed De La Cruz on a fourth and short, sealing the win for the Eagles.
Turner complemented his quarterback by rushing for 59 yards on 12 carries, alongside Flores’ 39 yards and two scores on eight carries. Turner also caught two passes for 51 yards.
“I just want to give a shout out to the whole offensive line,” Hacker said. “They’re doing great things right now. All of my running backs deserve credit, and they’re all doing great things, too.”
De La Cruz, Polivoda and Vargas spearheaded Caprock’s offensive efforts.
De La Cruz was 7-of-12 for 117 yards and one touchdown, while rushing 15 times for 66 yards and three more scores. Vargas picked up 125 yards on 14 carries, and Polivoda caught four passes for 61 yards and one TD.
“Vargas is the best running back in the area,” Freeman said. “He’s an absolute dude. He’s had a couple touchdowns get called back, but he’s starting to develop into a complete back. I’ll give him a plug: college coaches, come find this guy.”
“We’re starting to figure out what (De La Cruz) does well, and he loves the contact,” Freeman continued. “He took care of the football for us, and got those tough yards. He’s fighting and giving everything he’s got. I’m incredibly proud of those guys, and proud of anybody wearing the orange and white.”
On defense, senior linebacker Bryson Butler totaled eight tackles, including two tackles for a loss. Junior Daniel Ramirez also collected a fumble recovery for the ‘Horns.
Complementing Hacker and Turner for Canyon was Schilling, who reeled in 60 yards and one TD on four catches.