PREP FOOTBALL : Game of the Week : Canyon Wins 39th Straight, Beats Hart, 42-32

A new twist was added to the great Canyon Country Canyon-Newhall Hart matchup of 1986 Friday night, something not seen around the halls at Hart during Break the Streak Week, not heard when 400 students showed up for the first pep club meeting at Canyon in four years, not felt the night before at an old-fashioned bonfire in the Hart parking lot.

The game.

Oh, yeah, the game.

When they finally did play after several months of buildup, these rivals separated by little in the way of talent and by only four miles in terms of geography, nothing had changed since last year, except the names and numbers. Canyon still had its winning streak, still had the bragging rights to the Santa Clarita Valley and, if this night was any indication, the better team, all the result of an impressive 42-32 season-opening win before an estimated crowd of 8,000 at College of the Canyons.

The third-longest high school winning streak in the nation is now at 39, seven short of tying the all-time Southern Section record and eight shy of the state mark. East St. Louis, Ill., began the season with 40 straight wins, and River Ridge of John Curtis, La., is at 39.

Next up for Canyon: La Canada.

“It’s as far as I can look,” Cowboy Coach Harry Welch said. “Being 2-0 would be real nice.”

Last season, Canyon won a 6-3 Hartbreaker by stopping quarterback Jim Bonds inches short of a touchdown on the final play of the game. This year, there was no need for last-minute heroics as the Cowboys, in the very unusual role of underdogs, however slight, jumped out to a 21-0 lead, increased it to 28-6 by halftime and never looked back. It was 42-26 before Bonds hit junior wide receiver Scott Wheeler with a 45-yard scoring pass with 15 seconds left in the game.

Canyon was sparked by wide receiver-defensive back Chad Zeigler who caught 6 passes for 125 yards and touchdowns of 39, 7 and 20 yards, and added another score on an 80-yard run with a fumble recovery. Canyon, The Times’ eighth-ranked team, didn’t need many breaks against No. 7 Hart, but that fumble recovery was one it did get.

Of Zeigler, Welch said: “Just keep him away from Kryptonite.”

Senior quarterback Ken Sollom of Canyon, who stepped in to replace the injured John Watkins for the first round of the Northwestern Conference playoffs last season, was just as sharp in his 1986 debut. He completed 13 of 22 passes for 214 yards and 4 touchdowns (2 interceptions), while his equally able Hart counterpart, Bonds, opened his senior year with a 21-of-33 effort for 318 yards and 4 touchdowns (2 interceptions).

Perhaps the difference was in the Canyon running game, which did a good job of keeping Hart honest against the pass. Senior Lance Cross, an All-Southern Section choice in 1985, carried 19 times for 123 yards, including a 14-yard scoring run. Paul Chadwell added 58 in 7 carries.