Canyon Can’t Rise to Its Own Defense, Loses

Ken Sollom, the quarterback who all season had avoided interceptions the way John Madden avoids airplanes, was picked off in Muir territory with two minutes left to end Canyon’s final possession and give Muir a 22-14 win Friday night.

Marlon Andrews made the interception that sealed Muir’s 23rd straight victory. Canyon, a streak-maker most of the season, was thrust in the odd of role of trying to be a streak-breaker in the Coastal Conference semifinal at Glendale High.

Besides the interception of Sollom, other oddities marked Canyon’s second loss in 51 games.

Muir running back Rick Ervins, the returning conference player of the year and a 1,000-yard rusher, gained only 20 yards on six carries. The Mustangs came out passing behind left-handed quarterback Vince Phillips, who completed 16 of 22 for 138 yards.

In another weird twist, Muir used Canyon’s defensive alignment. Muir Coach Jim Brownfield had coached with Canyon Coach Harry Welch in last summer’s Shrine all-star game and learned the intricacies of the Cowboy defense.

“We used Canyon’s defense and it seemed to confuse them,” Brownfield said. “I thanked Harry after the game for it. This is the biggest win of my career because Harry is the best.”

Muir sacked Sollom seven times for 47 yards and forced him to throw mostly short passes. Defensive end Chad Brown was the leader of the sack, reaching Sollom four times.

Sollom, a 6-2, 190-pound senior who was used extensively as a defensive back for the first time this season, completed 17 of 29 passes for 164 yards. He threw two interceptions and finished the season with only eight interceptions in 290 attempts.

“Ken was put in a situation where he wanted to carry the team by himself,” Welch said. “He is a tremendous quarterback and did all he could. He took that last one really hard.”

Lance Cross, who rushed for 3,327 yards in his three-year Canyon career, gained only 22 yards on 11 carries. With Canyon not getting the usual number of runs from him, Sollom had to pass on almost every down in the second half.

“The only effect the light rain had was to nullify our running game,” Welch said.

The Mustangs went ahead, 15-14, by driving 49 yards on 10 plays in their only third-quarter possession. Phillips completed four of five passes on the drive and hit Darin Warren in the end zone from the nine. A kick by Jon Ruiz gave Muir the lead.

Canyon moved 47 yards on its ensuing possession but Sollom, after completing four straight, was intercepted by Marcus Robertson on a throwback to Chad Zeigler.

Muir scored the clinching touchdown two possessions later when Andreas Douglass, who led all rushers with 86 yards on 10 carries, scored on a sweep from the 18.

The loss ended an era at Canyon. The Cowboys had won three straight Northwestern Conference titles before moving up to the Coastal Conference this season.

“This was the most incredible team I have coached,” Welch said. “We had four great players and a lot of average guys who had great intestinal fortitude.”

A four-yard scoring pass from Sollom to Trevor Doyle early in the second quarter gave Canyon (11-2) a 14-6 halftime lead. Zeigler cleared out the left side, Doyle snuck in behind and was wide open. Sollom was 5 for 5 passing on the drive and completed 8 of 11 for 80 yards in the first half. Most were short darts underneath the Muir secondary.

Taking a lead on the Mustangs was somewhat special in itself. Muir (13-0) had allowed only 49 points all season. Although the school is named after outdoorsman John Muir, you rarely see this Muir trail.

Canyon’s first score came midway through the first quarter on a seven-yard Cross run to cap an eight play, 46-yard drive. The key play was a 13-yard pass to Ernie Figueroa on third-and-eight from the Muir 30. A lob to Zeigler in the corner of the end zone on the conversion gave Canyon an 8-0 lead.

The Mustangs charged back and moved 78 yards in 7 plays for a score.