Sollom’s 4 Touchdown Passes Help Canyon Match Record

The Canyon High Cowboys don’t like to talk much about The Streak. But Coach Harry Welch had to admit that Friday night’s game against Quartz Hill was something special for his players.

With a 45-13 win over the Rebels, Canyon extended its winning streak to 46 games and tied a decade-old Southern Section record. The Cowboys share the mark with Temple City, which put together its own streak from 1969-73.

Canyon also remained the team with the longest current string of victories in the nation.

“It’s certainly been on our minds this week,” Welch said of the record. “This has been four years in the making. It’s a victory for four teams.”

Next week, Canyon will attempt to tie the state record of 47, held by the 1972-77 teams of Cardinal Newman in Santa Rosa.

The only problem is, the Cowboys (8-0, 3-0 in league) will have to face Antelope Valley, a team that figures to be Canyon’s toughest competitor in the Golden League.

Quartz Hill (1-7, 0-3) presented little resistance.

Canyon quarterback Ken Sollom showed why he is the Valley’s top quarterback this season. Sollom completed 11 of 20 passes for 267 yards and 4 touchdowns. Sollom has passed for 1,854 yards this season.

Against Quartz Hill, it may have helped that he got his favorite receiver back for the game. Chad Zeigler, Sollom’s cousin, played for the first time in three weeks, returning from a severe concussion he received against Notre Dame. Zeigler suffered a memory loss for several days after that injury, but he didn’t forget how to play football.

He caught 3 passes for 84 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first quarter as Canyon raced to a 14-0 lead. Zeigler finished with 4 catches for 90 yards.

The Rebels kept the game fairly close in the beginning. Midway through the second quarter, Quartz Hill quarterback Scott Weiss ran a sneak up the middle for 63 yards and a touchdown that made the score 21-7.

But his team would not score again until the waning moments of the game, when Weiss, playing against Canyon’s second-string defense, connected on a 52-yard bomb to Doug Costa.

Otherwise, the senior quarterback had a difficult night against the Cowboys. He completed only 12 of 33 passes for 160 yards. His receivers dropped nine passes during the game. Weiss also fumbled the ball away in the third quarter.

Canyon played a practically flawless game. The Cowboys had one turnover, a Lance Cross fumble, and only 3 penalties for 25 yards.

Cross made up for his miscue by gaining 87 yards on 16 carries and scoring one touchdown.

One of the few bright performances for Quartz Hill came from defensive lineman George Cross, who blitzed often to pressure Sollom and made several great tackles.

After the game, Welch was careful to say that he was happy for his team and the community. But the coach let on to some personal satisfaction, too.

“I wanted to be head coach here for 12 years before I got the job,” he said. “After being turned down so many times, after so many frustrations . . . well, to have the opportunity to show people that I can coach football is something I’ll treasure the rest of my life.” HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL WINNING STREAKS NATION 76 Douglass of Oklahoma City

from 1949 to 1956 CALIFORNIA 47 Cardinal Newman of Santa Rosa

from 1972 to 1977 SOUTHERN SECTION 46 Canyon (1983 to date)

ties Temple City (1969-73)