Canyon Defies Odds in Win Over Thousand Oaks

Go figure those Canyon Cowboys.

Facing The Times’ No. 1-rated team in the region after a winless start, Canyon entered Thursday night’s nonleague football game at Thousand Oaks with the added burden of having lost fullback Aidan Stanford, who quit the team earlier this week, and inside linebacker Chris Korenthal, who left the team for personal reasons.

Even their coach, Harry Welch, tabbed his team “30-point” underdogs at the Lancers’ home field.

Tossing pregame worries forcefully aside, Canyon beat Thousand Oaks, 16-12, with vintage Canyon football. Consider the images: nose guard Chuck Osborne, playing his first game at the position, making big plays all night long; fullback Andy Cleland, stepping into Stanford’s shoes, carrying 18 times for 77 hard-earned yards; and the defense, limiting the previously unbeaten Lancers to just 48 second-half yards.

“Obviously, it was the best we’ve played all year,” said Welch, whose team improved to 1-1-1. “It was very, very important to us. We’re not there yet, but we sure grew tonight.”

Thousand Oaks (2-1) was not without its own problems. Senior tailback Cory Bowen, who had rushed for 200 yards in last week’s win over Hart, strained a hamstring on the third play of the game--an 89-yard scoring run--and missed the rest of the game.

“(The team) made his loss too big a factor,” Thousand Oaks Coach Bob Richards said. “I was very disappointed in the way we performed after we lost him.”

Canyon gave smash-mouth Thousand Oaks a taste of its own medicine in the game-winning drive. After taking the second-half kickoff trailing, 12-9, the Cowboys moved 65 yards in 11 plays, nine of them rushing plays, consuming nearly six minutes of time. Canyon capped it when quarterback Chad Engbrecht dove over from the one. Engbrecht enjoyed a productive night, completing eight of 11 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown.

“Obviously, it hurt T.O. to lose this marvelously gifted, tough, inspirational back,” Welch said. “But we weren’t without our own adversity. And I would hate to belittle the Cowboys’ effort tonight.”

Thousand Oaks’ only second-half bid to regain the lead ended at Canyon’s 22 on the final play of the third quarter. Osborne surged through the line and tossed Lancer quarterback Ernie Foli to the turf, celebrating wildly after the frustration of two sub-par weeks.

The game began fast and furious, as is typical of Canyon and Thousand Oaks. What wasn’t typical, though, was that little of the fury was provided by defense.

Bowen’s touchdown came on the game’s third play, an untouched dash around the left corner. A bad snap on the conversion left the score 6-0.

Canyon was not fazed. On the Cowboys’ third offensive play, Engbrecht dropped back in the pocket, eluded a rush, waited an extra second then zipped a 47-yard scoring pass to a wide-open Cleland. Matt George’s point-after gave Canyon a 7-6 lead.

On the Lancers’ ensuing possession, Foli lofted a 44-yard scoring pass to a streaking Dan Fitzgerald. A two-point try failed, and Thousand Oaks led, 12-7, with almost five minutes remaining in the first quarter.

But Canyon and Thousand Oaks soon settled into their old patterns. A 15-play Canyon drive put the Cowboys at the Lancer two-yard line on fourth down. But Engbrecht’s play-action pass was batted down by Shane Graham.

On the next play, however, Osborne broke through the line and drilled Lancer running back Quincy Jacobs.

Canyon’s Chris Spahr finished off Jacobs in the end zone for a safety, and Canyon had closed the gap to 12-9 at halftime.