Canyon Takes Advantage of Second Chance

Canyon High School wrecked Santa Ana Valley’s hopes for an automatic Southern Section Division III playoff bid with a 16-7 upset of the Falcons Thursday night at Fred Kelly Stadium.

The loss dropped Santa Ana Valley to fifth in the Century League and ended the Falcons’ hopes of tying Orange (2-1-1) for third.

Their only hope of advancing is the one wild-card berth in the 16-team draw.

With just under nine minutes to play and Santa Ana Valley leading, 7-6, the game’s pivotal play came on fourth down and 11 when Canyon’s Greg Lawrence shanked a 41-yard field-goal attempt.

But officials flagged Santa Ana Valley (4-4-2, 1-3-1) for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the play, giving Canyon (4-6, 2-3) a first down at the 12.

“I’ve never seen a call like that,” Santa Ana Valley Coach Dan Castanon said, “The official told me that one of our linemen was trying to disrupt Canyon’s snap count.”

“I tried to explain to him that on kicks, teams don’t even use snap counts. The holders just use hand signals to the center.”

Canyon Coach Loren Shumer still made it interesting, settling for a 23-yard field goal.