Edwards Leads Antelope Valley to 26-24 Win Over Canyon

Freddie Edwards scored all four Antelope Valley High touchdowns and the Antelope defense held tight in the waning seconds to preserve a 26-24 Golden League victory over Canyon High on Friday at Canyon.

The loss was just the fourth in league play for Canyon during Coach Harry Welch’s 10-year tenure at the school. However, it was the second in as many weeks for the Cowboys, who fell to 3-3-1, 0-2 in league play.

Antelope Valley is 4-3, 2-0.

In addition, Welch made a controversial call on a special-teams play for the second consecutive week and, for the second time, it backfired.

Late in the third quarter, junior kicker Matt George broke a Canyon school record with a 49-yard field goal that cleared the crossbar by five yards. But when the Cowboys had an opportunity to win in the final minute with a 39-yard kick, Welch kept George on the sideline.

“I didn’t think it was right to put that kind of pressure on a 16-year-old two weeks in a row,” Welch said. “I’d rather take the heat myself.”

A week ago, Welch played for a tie against Quartz Hill by sending George in for a point-after kick rather than going for a two-point conversion with four seconds to play. But because of a poor snap, George never got a chance to kick the ball and Canyon fell, 14-13.

Friday, Welch faced a fourth-and-six situation from the Antelope 22 with less than a minute to play and elected to try for the first down rather than a field goal. But Chad Engbrecht’s pass to Andy Cleland fell incomplete and Antelope Valley took over on downs.

Edwards scored what proved to be the winning points on a seven-yard run with 3 minutes 14 seconds to play. That gave Antelope Valley a 26-24 lead and capped a comeback from a 14-0 deficit.

Canyon scored on its first possession, driving 80 yards in 12 plays. Ed Williams and Cleland combined for 40 yards on the ground and Engbrecht completed three passes to set up an 11-yard scoring toss to Jim Zopelis.

Cleland scored on a one-yard run in the second period to make it 14-0. Antelope Valley’s first two possessions netted just 20 yards. Even Edwards had trouble getting started as an apparent 67-yard touchdown run was nullified by an illegal block.

That proved just a temporary setback, however. Edwards finished with 138 yards in 17 carries, scoring on runs of 31, three and seven yards. His third touchdown--a 100-yard kickoff return that gave Antelope Valley a 20-17 lead--is certain to make his college-recruiting film.

Edwards took the ball at the goal line and charged 10 yards upfield, where he faked a handoff to Rodney Flakes. Several defenders were duped by the fake--and Edwards juked the few who weren’t--before he hit the open field.