Canyon Shows Up at Thousand Oaks : Cowboys, After Opening With a Pair of Losses, Gain 7-7 Tie Against Unbeaten Lancers

In something of a minor upset, Canyon High’s winless football team appeared Friday night to play unbeaten Thousand Oaks.

Given Canyon Coach Harry Welch’s guarantee of failure earlier in the week, there was some question. But, sure enough, the buses rolled in right on time. And the Cowboys, in something of a true upset--although Thousand Oaks Coach Bob Richards would surely disagree--tied the Lancers, 7-7, in a nonleague game at Thousand Oaks.

Welch, feigned or otherwise, expressed surprise.

“Absolutely,” he said. “I thought we’d lose by 20 or 30.”

Richards, however, wasn’t buying any of it. He predicted a close game and that’s what he got.

“It was a ploy for his team, and he does it every year,” Richards said. “And the newspapers buy it.

“I wasn’t hook, line and sinkered in. . . .”

After a 7-7 score at halftime, both teams had late chances to reel in a victory, but the big one got away in every instance:

* Canyon fumbled on the Thousand Oaks 11-yard line on the fourth quarter’s second play and defensive back Scott Barkman fell on the ball.

* Thousand Oaks fumbled an exchange on Canyon’s 22 with 1:10 left. Linebacker Steve Mann recovered.

* Canyon fumbled on the Lancers’ 35 with 23 seconds left. Thousand Oaks lineman Bassam Kneizeh recovered.

“Thousand Oaks beat the heck out of us,” Welch said, citing several injured players who had to leave the game. “My God, though, we were so close to a field goal. One more first down and we had a chance.”

The statistics were just what you’d expect in a stalemate. Canyon barely outgained the Lancers, 257 yards to 255. Thousand Oaks was penalized eight times to Canyon’s seven.

And both teams scored first-half touchdowns.

Thousand Oaks’ defense lapsed against Canyon receiver Clint Beauer only once in the half. Against Beauer, however, it takes only once.

The 6-foot-3 senior grabbed a Tim Beidle pass on a slant over the middle and sprinted the final 10 yards for a 28-yard score. The touchdown gave Canyon a 7-0 lead with 49 seconds left before intermission.

The Lancers, previously unable to sustain a drive, came right back. Chad Tomlinson returned the subsequent kickoff 36 yards to Thousand Oaks’ 45 and, after a late hit, the Lancers took possession on Canyon’s 41.

With 38 seconds left, quarterback Scott Peterson scrambled 11 yards to the 30. On the next play, he found receiver Jim Magallanes over the middle to the one. Fullback Chris Foster was stopped once but, with Thousand Oaks out of timeouts and with four seconds left, he crashed over the goal line. Jason Ybarra’s kick made the score 7-7 at halftime.

The game marked the return of Thousand Oaks running back Mike Lindsay, who missed the first two games because of a knee injury. Lindsay, who rushed for 1,046 yards as a junior, gained 30 yards in nine carries. Peterson finished with 93 yards passing and 38 yards rushing.

Canyon’s Mark Santos gained 56 yards in 11 carries and quarterback Beidle was 10 of 23 for 129 yards.

“It’s the best we’ve played,” Welch said. “If we look like the way we played against Hart, we don’t have a chance. If we played like we did at Bakersfield, we lose by 20 or 30 points.”

Richards wasn’t fooled.

“We played our best game this year,” he said. “And it got us a 7-7 tie.”

All in all, it was as good a game as Welch said it wouldn’t be.