Canyon Slices Wedge Out of Westlake Defense

In terms of football history, the play goes back to when leather helmets were in vogue, face masks were for wimps and padding was for guys who’d prefer to sit in an armchair.

In Canyon High’s football repertoire, though, this particular play is as state-of-the-art as a stealth bomber. And there’s nothing secret, or particularly subtle, about it.

It’s called The Wedge, and Canyon center Lenny Grimaldo has the cleat marks on his caboose to show how often the Cowboys run it. For the uninitiated, it’s usually referred to as a quarterback sneak, or keeper, right up the middle of, ta da, Grimaldo’s backside.

“The wedge is the heart of our offense,” he said. “We really like to use it to stick it in there.”

“There”, of course, being the end zone. Canyon scored on the keeper play twice in its Southern Section Division II playoff game at Thousand Oaks High on Friday night, sticking it to Westlake, 28-14.

Canyon plays Santa Barbara in the semifinals next Saturday.

After Westlake (5-6-1) scored on quarterback Todd Preston’s bootleg to tie the game, 14-14, in the third quarter, Canyon quarterback Tim Beidle scored on a six-yard keeper to give the Cowboys the lead for keeps with 2:35 left in the period. Beidle scored in the first half on the same play from two yards.

Westlake, however, never rolled over, despite being regarded as a lopsided underdog. After Beidle’s second scoring run, the Warriors drove to the Canyon 11-yard line early in the fourth quarter and threatened to tie the score again.

On second and 10, Preston rolled to his left and, with several Canyon defenders in pursuit, tried to get the ball to receiver Seamus Gibbons in the back of the end zone. Instead, the pass was intercepted by defensive back Howard Diggins for a touchback with 10:24 left.

“I was in the middle of my zone, and I just came over to help out,” Diggins said. “I had to move a little, but he really threw it right to me.”

Westlake held off Canyon (8-3-1) again, though, when tailback Chris Peery--who gained 120 yards in 18 carries and scored twice--could not field a Beidle pitch at the Westlake 30 with 5:12 left.

The Canyon defense, which limited Preston to just 148 yards on 14-of-35 passing, again stiffened. On fourth down at the Canyon 32, Preston was pressed into the dirt by Canyon’s Vince Nevieux for the Cowboys’ fifth sack.

Westlake’s last chance also ended like the majority of its other scoring opportunities. With 2:16 remaining, Preston moved his team to the Canyon nine, but his fourth-down pass to Dave Monheim left the Warriors a yard shy of the first down with 16 seconds left.

“We pulled together,” Diggins said. “We had some ups and downs, but when it mattered, we played a little football today.”

With the Westlake passing attack stagnating in the first half--Preston completed only one of his first eight attempts--the Warriors went to the trick-play bag to take a 7-0 lead with 3:57 left in the first quarter.

After a holding penalty pushed Westlake back to first and goal at the Canyon 16, Preston lobbed a lateral to running back Luke Crawford, who rolled right and passed to tight end Monheim. Monheim reached up with his left hand and pulled down the ball from a forest of hands that included those of Canyon defenders Diggins and Clint Beauer.

Crawford was in the right place a few seconds later when he recovered a fumble by Canyon kick-return man Jason Brenner at the Canyon 29. Westlake, however, was turned away when Tony Terani missed a 33-yard field goal.

The Canyon defense snapped out of its funk in the second quarter, pressuring Preston numerous times and forcing early throws. Preston, who was sacked three times by linebacker Brad Weaver in the first half, completed three of 12 attempts for 50 yards before the intermission, all to Gibbons.

With Canyon using its zone to hold down Preston, Westlake running back Demetrius Wynn was called upon to deliver, and he did, finishing with 147 yards in 13 carries. Keep in mind that Wynn, in 11 previous games, gained only 109 yards in 32 carries.

“They were dropping eight guys back (in the defensive secondary),” Westlake Coach Jim Benkert said. “So we tried to run the ball and had pretty good success. Then, in the third quarter, they changed on us and took away the run.”

Canyon tied it, 7-7, on a textbook drive in the second quarter. Using fullback David McDivitt, who gained 30 yards in two carries in the drive, Canyon scored with 7:36 left in the half on Peery’s eight-yard blast up the middle.

The Cowboys moved ahead, 14-7, on the first of Beidle’s two keepers with 1:20 remaining in the half. Beidle completed passes of 26 and 22 yards to key the drive.