Canoga Park Wins on Late Kick, 17-15

Sophomore Mike Conover kicked a 34-yard field goal with 14 seconds left in the game as Canoga Park defeated Hamilton, 17-15, Friday.

Canoga Park improved its record to 3-1, while host Hamilton fell to 0-4.

The last-second kick was nothing new for Conover, who two weeks ago hit a 17-yard field goal with no time left to beat Cleveland, 23-20.

“I was scared to death,” said Conover, referring to his kick against Hamilton. “I was thinking if I miss this, what’s going to happen at school on Monday? All my friends would be coming up to me and saying, ‘you blew it.’ ”

Conover also caught one touchdown pass.

The field goal provided a furious finish to what had been a lackluster game. During the first three quarters, Canoga Park built a 14-3 lead, mostly by way of its ground attack. Robert Franklin carried the ball 12 times for 58 yards, and Junior Delgado ran 11 times for 76 yards.

Hamilton quarterback Brent Turley turned on the heat in the fourth quarter, leading a 94-yard touchdown drive with nine minutes left. On the next series, Hamilton’s Lavelle Parker ran an interception back 50 yards for a touchdown, putting the Yankees in the lead, 15-14.

Canoga Park quarterback Tony Cantrell, benched at halftime in favor of Jeff Myers, returned in the final minutes and completed two key passes to set up the winning field goal. Cantrell completed 11 of 26 passes for 119 yards.