Canyon Hits On Thousand Oaks for 26-7 Win

Harry Welch admitted that the Thousand Oaks High Lancers outhit his Canyon Cowboys on Friday night. But because Ken Sollom was content just hitting his receivers, Canyon registered a deceptively easy 26-7 win over Thousand Oaks at Canyon.

The victory extended Canyon’s winning streak to 41 games. Isn’t life after 40 grand, Canyon?

“We are 3-0, not 41-0,” said Welch, who happens to be 41 years old. “But I’m feeling younger every day.”

Certainly, his quarterback is a wellspring of youthful vigor. Sollom, a 6-2, 205-pound senior, completed 10 of 13 passes for 193 yards and three touchdowns. All three scores came in the first half. Although teammates were taking vicious hits around him, Sollom showed savvy.

After Thousand Oaks scored first on a 2-yard run by Mike Moore midway through the first quarter, Sollom calmly hit Trevor Doyle for a 69-yard touchdown on the next play.

“Isn’t he amazing?” Welch said of Sollom. The coach sounded as if he were any old Canyon fan watching from the stands.

In the second quarter, Sollom passed to freshman tight end Chris Peery for a 38-yard score, and with less than 1 minute left before halftime he zipped a bullet to Chad Zeigler on a look-in pattern for an 11-yard touchdown. Canyon led, 20-7.

The quick strikes had the Lancers befuddled. They figured if they came out and punished the Cowboys, this streak talk would come to an end.

“That team can hit,” Welch said. “They banged us around good.”

Thousand Oaks (2-1) also controlled the ball well, running 57 plays to Canyon’s 41. Running backs Moore and Marc Monestime, dubbed the M & M backfield, did not melt in the hands of Cowboy defenders.

Moore, the younger brother of former Lancer fullback Bruce Moore, gained 50 yards on 14 carries. Monestime added 36 and junior quarterback Steve Sisco had 37 on 7 carries.

A Sisco toss intercepted by Trevor Doyle early in the third quarter may have been the game’s key play, however. Thousand Oaks had driven to the Canyon 18 when Sisco threw into the end zone. Doyle made an over-the-shoulder grab to protect the Cowboys’ 13-point lead.

Canyon scored on the last play of the third quarter on a 56-yard run by fullback Paul Chadwell on which he shook off four defenders. “That was the run of the year,” Welch said.

Chadwell had to assume primary ball-carrying duties because Lance Cross, Canyon’s leading ground-gainer, left the game in the first half after reinjuring his back. Chadwell, a 5-7, 155-pound senior, gained 96 yards on 10 carries. Cross had 18 on 3 carries before exiting.

“Canyon has good athletes and they made the big plays,” Richards said.

While Canyon’s scoring plays covered 69, 56, 38 and 11 yards, Thousand Oaks’ longest gain of the night was a 19-yard pass from Sisco to Jason Schlimgen.

And the streak lives on. As long as Sollom remains healthy, the team will gladly enjoy each passing week. This was supposed to be Canyon’s most severe test until the season’s ninth week when the Cowboys travel to Antelope Valley.