McDivitt Jump-Starts Canyon in 39-0 Win

In its first offensive series Friday night, Canyon High lined up at Palmdale’s 22-yard line and David McDivitt took a pitch.

Canyon’s No. 1 tailback rambled for 14 yards and the collective sigh from the Canyon sideline could be heard all the way to the Antelope Valley.

McDivitt, out of action since Sept. 7, was back.

Canyon went on to dismantle Golden League rival Palmdale, 39-0, at Canyon behind McDivitt’s 86 yards and three touchdowns.

“The missing link is David McDivitt,” Canyon Coach Harry Welch said. “There’s no mystery about that. David returns and we play different.”

Differently enough to claim a share of second place in the Golden League. Canyon (7-1, 2-1 in league play) needed to dispose of Palmdale (3-5, 2-1) to help secure a good seeding for the upcoming playoffs.

McDivitt, who sat out the final period, said he was running at about 80%. But that was plenty as he gained 50 yards and scored twice in the first quarter alone.

“It’s fine,” McDivitt said of his bruised thigh. “I just tried to go out and play. If you think about it, you can’t get hurt.”

So thoroughly did Canyon (233 yards rushing) run over Palmdale that sophomore Aidan Stanford, in his first varsity game, scampered for 71 yards and two touchdowns in 15 carries.

Welch said the 15-year-old may have found his niche.

“He was scared to death,” Welch said. “But he better get used to it. I think it’s going to be a three-year stay.”

Overlooked in Canyon’s ground dominance was the effort of a hard-edged Cowboy defense, which held a speedy Palmdale offense to 48 yards rushing.

“I told the team, football teams rarely get two chances,” Welch said. “If we lost to Quartz Hill (which defeated the Cowboys, 12-6, two weeks ago) and Palmdale, then our season would practically be over.”

With McDivitt back, it seems far from over.

He capped the first of Canyon’s four first-half scoring drives with a 12-yard run and followed that with a one-yard hop over a goal-line pileup to give Canyon a 13-0 lead with little over a minute left in the first quarter. Stanford scored Canyon’s third touchdown on a three-yard run in the second quarter.