Cross Returns to Lead Canyon to 43rd in Row

Harry Welch is just the kind of guy who would find a lottery ticket on the sidewalk and wind up winning $1 million.

Friday night at Canyon High, Welch, the Canyon coach, stood watching his standout running back go through pregame drills in preparation for the Cowboys’ game against Alemany.

Lance Cross, the senior who had had gained more than 1,000 yards in each of the past two seasons, was nursing a sprained ankle, one that has kept him on the bench for the better part of the season.

Welch had decided that Cross wouldn’t start and was contemplating keeping him out the entire game. But only a couple of minutes into the game, Welch found his lottery ticket, or maybe a miracle cure.

“Before the first series, the doctors came to me and said he could play,” Welch said.

So Welch sent him in and called his number three times on the first drive. Cross’ third carry was a one-yard touchdown run, supplying Canyon with all the points it would need in a 21-3 nonleague victory over Alemany.

The win improved Canyon to 5-0 this season and increased its winning streak to 43 games, the longest mark in the country.

Alemany, which has the Valley’s toughest schedule, fell to 1-4. The Indians upset Kennedy last week and have lost to Harvard, Granada Hills, Hart and now Canyon. Still ahead for Alemany are Del Rey League rivals Crespi, Loyola and St. John Bosco, each of which is ranked in the Big Five Conference.

Sure, Canyon won the game, but perhaps its biggest victory of all on Friday was the return of Cross, who gained 69 yards on 12 carries.

And nobody feels better about the whole thing than Cross himself.

“It was kind of a bummer sitting out,” he said. “I went two years without missing a game and this season I missed three.”

Although Cross left the game in the fourth quarter after reinjuring his ankle, he said it isn’t serious and it’s a good bet that he’ll be on the field when the Cowboys open Golden League play next week against Santa Clarita Valley-rival Saugus.

“Yeah, I’ll be ready,” he said. “I hope the ankle will be ready because I can tell you that I definitely will.”