Cowboys have character, but Hart’s still unbeaten
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It’s difficult to say exactly how good Canyon is thanks to all these crazy ‘upsets’ that have been going on all season. Basically, Crespi’s surprising victories over Birmingham and St. Bonaventure only made people scratch their heads more when Canyon ‘upset’ the Celts, 17-14, last week.
The victory was enough to push Canyon back into The Times’ rankings, but was it enough to convince everybody that the Cowboys are ready to challenge Hart for the Foothill League title?
Well, I’m sure everybody in Canyon Country certainly thinks so, but I think there are some people a few miles or so down Soledad Canyon Road who would beg to differ.
The bottom line is Canyon’s victory last week definitely illustrated how good it can be when it plays to its capabilities. And, just as important, it also proved the Cowboys can beat a top-tier team.
They have played a much tougher schedule than Hart and are 1-2 in games against highly-ranked opponents Notre Dame, St. Bonny and Crespi. Hart is 5-0, but the only quasi-top-of-the-line opponent the Indians have played is Loyola (sorry, Bishop Amat and Westlake), which, in my book, is just a step better than the Chaminade team that beat the Cowboys.
In short, Canyon has already proved it can beat a highly-skilled team similar to Hart, but the Indians have not proven they can beat a team like the Cowboys.
Still, that certainly doesn’t mean anybody should be claiming next year’s rights to the Victory Bell just yet.
Though I think this Foothill League showdown could easily go either way, I’m leaning toward Hart because it hasn’t done anything to warrant calling it an “underdog.’ The Indians have won every game like they should have, unlike Canyon, which was fully capable of beating Chaminade.
Hart QB B.R. Holbrook has been strong from Game 1, RB Delano Howell, pictured above, is as good as always, and the Indians’ Patrick Larimore-led defense is giving up only 13 points a game. They also have more starters that have played in high-pressure playoff games.
Canyon showed last week what it’s capable of doing when it limits its mistakes. The Cowboys’ strength is their defense, where guys like Mike Spagnola, Brandon Reeves and Sean Crane proved against Crespi they can limit high-power offensive units.
But can it stop a more diversified offense than Crespi’s?
Holbrook is a definite two-way threat (714 yards passing, 331 yards rushing) and Canyon can’t be happy with just stopping Holbrook’s arm or Howell’s feet -- it’s got to limit both. With Crespi, the Cowboys stopped the running game and forced the Celts to use their relatively inexperienced QB, Bryan Bennett.
Bennett did some damage with his nearly 400 yards of passing, but the Cowboys prevented him from making a pass when it counted the most -- on fourth down. Canyon stopped the Celts several times on fourth down, showing an amazing amount of poise, confidence and character. These are attributes a team can only earn once it’s gone through hell and back (which means playing teams like Notre Dame, St. Bonny and Crespi) and it’ll definitely help Canyon in its biggest regular-season game of the year.
What: No. 5 Hart (5-0) at No. 24 Canyon (2-3)
When: 7:30 p.m.
Prediction: Hart 24, Canyon 21
Calpreps.com Prediction: Hart 24, Canyon 17
- Austin Knoblauch
-- Image by Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times