CHILDRESS — The Canyon Eagles weren’t necessarily trying to become the answer to a Texas high school football trivia question.
Who was the last team to defeat Wichita Falls High?
The Eagles became the answer to that question Thursday night, ending not only the Coyotes’ season but the history of the program with a 51-33 victory in a Region I-4A Division I bi-district matchup at Fair Park Stadium.
The Eagles advance to play either Lubbock Estacado or El Paso Bowie next week in the area round.
More: HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Predicting the final score for each area bi-district playoff game
Old High’s season ends with a 2-9 record, concluding the 121st and final season in program history.
“That’s humbling,” Canyon coach Todd Winfrey said. “Anyone that knows anything about Texas high school football knows what that Wichita Falls tradition means to the sport. It’s a great win, and it’s humbling just to be in the same sentence as that program.
“You just hold your hat in your hand and be humbled by it.”
But it wasn’t until the fourth quarter that Canyon took its first lead, let alone had the game in hand.
Old High raced out to a 19-2 advantage, scoring the game’s first three touchdowns with Canyon’s only points coming after blocking the extra point after the Coyotes’ first score and returning it to the end zone.
The Coyotes were on the verge of entering halftime with a 26-9 advantage and receiving the opening kickoff of the second half.
But a series of mistakes, including a penalty on a missed Canyon field goal with one second remaining in the half, eventually gifted the Eagles a 6-yard touchdown pass from Boston Bell to Jacob Burris with no time left on the clock.
Instead, the Coyote lead at intermission was 26-15, and all the momentum belonged to Canyon.
“They did a great job with their timeouts, and we made some bad mistakes there before half,” WFHS coach Grant Freeman said. “That touchdown shifted the momentum for sure. We just couldn’t get into the locker room quick enough.”
And Winfrey wasn’t going to let his Eagles relinquish that momentum.
“We went right into the locker room and looked at our leaders and asked, ‘We’re firing all bullets, right?’ They said, “Right.’ So, let’s kick the onside,” Winfrey said.
The Eagles recovered the onside kick to start the half, and while the stolen possession ended in Canyon’s fifth turnover, it set the stage for the rest of the quarter.
Canyon ended up scoring 42 consecutive points, including a 9-yard touchdown run by Christian McGuire on the first play of the fourth quarter that gave the Eagles their first lead of the game 30-26.
The Eagles led 51-26 before the Coyotes got their only score of the second half on a 65-yard kickoff return by Cameron Jones, who also scored a rushing and receiving TD.
Jones’ final burst at least showed the Coyotes put forth the maximal effort in the program’s final game — one that was closer than the final score indicated.
And one that featured a hell of a fight from the underdog Coyotes.
“I couldn’t be more proud to coach these kids,” Freeman said. “This isn’t how we wanted it to end, but they fought to the end. They knew what they were fighting for, and what this program represents and means to so many who came before them.
“This program wasn’t going out without a fight.”
CANYON 51, WFHS 33
WFHS 12 14 0 7 -33
Canyon 2 13 8 28 -51
FIRST QUARTER
W – Cameron Jones 25 pass from Zage Gravitt (kick blocked), 9:21
C – Colt Cruth blocked PAT return, 9:21
W – Cameron Jones 8 run (run failed), 3:04
SECOND QUARTER
W – Eric Powell 23 run (Justyn Judie kick), 10:41
C – Ryan Rivera 16 run (David Harper kick), 9:24
W – Jones 2 run (Judie kick), 4:39
C – Jacob Burris 6 pass from Boston Bell (pass failed), :00
THIRD QUARTER
C – Christian McGuire 3 run (Burris pass from McGuire), 3:01
FOURTH QUARTER
C – McGuire 9 run (Harper kick), 11:53
C – McGuire 27 run (Harper kick), 10:00
C – McGuire 13 run (Harper kick), 2:48
C – Carson Cockrell 47 interception return (Harper kick), 2:20
W – Jones 65 kickoff return (Judie kick), 2:06
TEAM STATS
First downs: (W) 12; (Ca) 27
Rushing: (W) 28-132; (Ca) 63-406
Passing: (W) 8-22-2—144; (Ca) 7-16-3—86
Punts: (W) 4-36.3; (Ca) 1-52
Fumbles: (W) 1-1; (Ca) 3-2
Penalties: (W) 8-79; (Ca) 11-121
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: (W) Eric Powell 20-127, Cameron Jones 6-12, Ean Beasley 1-10, Team 1-(-17); (Ca) Ryan Rivera 19-166, Christian McGuire 18-129, Colt Cruth 10-70, Samuel Johnson 12-51, Boston Bell 3-(-6), Team 1-(-4).
PASSING: (W) Gravitt 8-22-2—144; (Ca) Bell 7-16-3—86.
RECEIVING: (W) Ke’Ondrae Fleeks 5-97, Jones 2-37, Powell 1-10; (Ca) Jacob Burris 2-12, Noah Sanchez 1-18, Darian Cash 1-17, Rivera 1-12, Christian McGuire 1-9, Tripp Wright 1-7.
RECORDS: WFHS 2-9; Canyon 9-2.
2023-11-10 05:34:28
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