HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS : Just One Last Word About Streaks : A Row of Winners and Losers From the Postseason History Books

Canyon, one of 19 Valley-area high schools entering the first round of the playoffs tonight, has won 12 straight postseason games.

Oh, no. Another streak?

“No more streaks,” insisted Coach Harry Welch, whose Cowboys had the nation’s longest current winning streak snapped two weeks ago at 46.

Yet Canyon has marched through the playoffs to conference championships three straight seasons, something no other current Southern Section team has done.

And on the subject of streaks, did you know that the Cowboys, who play host to Dos Pueblos tonight, have won 25 straight home games?

“I was thinking about that last night,” Welch admitted. “But, please, try to forget the streaks.”

Several Cowboys--most notably Sollom, Chad Zeigler and Lance Cross--vividly recall the last eight playoff victories because they are veterans of the two Northwestern Conference title teams.

Flashback.... Nov. 16, 1984. Kenny Sollom, a fuzzy-faced 15-year-old, rescues Canyon in the rain by hitting his cousin, sophomore Chad Zeigler, with a 25-yard pass on fourth and 12 with a minute to go in a first-round game against St. Joseph. Sollom hits David Sipes with a touchdown pass on the next play and Canyon wins, 8-7.

Flashback.... Nov. 30, 1984. Lance Cross, a precocious 5-7, 150-pound sophomore halfback on his way to a 1,000-yard season, is clammy and dizzy from a 103-degree fever. He plays anyway and rushes for--believe it or not--103 yards in Canyon’s 27-6 semifinal win over Atascadero. The Cowboys whipped Santa Maria, 33-6, the following week for their second straight conference title.

Flashback.... Dec. 13, 1985.

Sollom replaces injured starter John Watkins during the playoffs and passes for eight touchdowns in four games, including a 9-7 win over Antelope Valley in the final. Zeigler catches three touchdown passes, returns punts and leads Canyon’s secondary. Cross gains 105 yards and scores Canyon’s only touchdown in the final. The Cowboys outscore four opponents, 127-20.

Fullback/linebacker Paul Chadwell, wide receiver/cornerback Trevor Doyle and center Shea Danels were called up from the sophomore team for the 1984 playoffs, which gives Canyon six starters who have been part of eight straight postseason wins.

Eight City Section teams from the Valley area combined for a remarkable streak one night in 1982. This was a mean streak, however, of eight losses to teams from the inner city in the first round of the playoffs. Downed in the Valley were Cleveland, Kennedy, San Fernando, Granada Hills, Taft, Sylmar, Grant and Poly.

Like boxers too punch-drunk to know better, nine Valley teams answered the bell for the 1983 playoffs. Three survived one round, at least, and Sylmar managed to win its second-round game, 13-7, over Garfield in overtime.

The trend of City playoff teams from the Valley having the life span of a house fly continued in 1984 when four forays into the 4-A playoffs resulted in four first-round losses.

Last season, Chatsworth made it to the 3-A final before losing and San Fernando managed a three-point first-round win over Gardena.

Valley-area Southern Section teams other than Canyon have had moderate playoff success in recent years. The most memorable was Agoura’s one-point win over Yucaipa in the 1984 Desert-Mountain Conference final. Steve Armstrong’s off-balance touchdown pass to Dave Friedl in the last minute won the game.

Harvard had a handle on the Desert-Mountain title last season, but three second-half fumbles cost the Saracens the title. Backs Andy Bell and Alex Huh have returned for another run, however, and Harvard enters the playoffs having won eight straight games.

The longest current winning streaks in the area are by Hart (nine), Harvard and Thousand Oaks (seven). Hart and Thousand Oaks have not lost since being beaten by Canyon early in the season.

Thousand Oaks and Burroughs have historically not let their seasons drag into December. They consistently win one playoff game and lose the second.

Last season Thousand Oaks slipped in the first round against Rio Mesa, 25-23, however. On a two-point conversion try with one minute to go in the game, Chris Wilt fell while trying to catch a pass from quarterback Dan Nagelmann. Wilt has stayed on his feet this season, however, making several key catches during the Lancers’ drive to their second straight Marmonte League title.

Burroughs had its best chance to advance beyond the first round in 1979 when quarterback Tom Tunnicliffe was a senior. He led the Indians to 11 straight wins, including a first-round win over South Torrance, before losing in the second round to Cabrillo, 17-14. Jeff Barrett is the best Burroughs’ quarterback since Tunnicliffe and could pass the Indians past the first round.

Coach Rick Scott has led Hart to three Foothill League titles in as many trys and hopes to win a conference title for the first time. Quarterback Tom Bonds led the Indians to the Coastal Conference title in 1983, and his brother, Jim, is attempting to do the same this season.

Jim Bonds almost brought home the Coastal Conference championship last season when Hart made it to the final before losing to Muir, 28-14. Hart won’t have to contend with Muir this season because the Foothill League has moved to the Northwestern Conference. The final will probably match Hart and Temple City, the only unbeaten team in the conference.

Muir has the Southern Section’s longest current winning streak at 20 and will meet Canyon in the Coastal Conference semifinal if the teams win their first two playoff games.

In an odd reversal, Canyon would be in a position to snap a streak. Yes, it seems that no matter how they try, the Cowboys can’t get away from that word.