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Holding Call Helps as Canyon Holds On : High school football: Thousand Oaks touchdown nullified in closing seconds and Cowboys win, 21-14.

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

The contrasting emotions of Thousand Oaks High quarterback Trevor Thompson and Canyon High running back Ed Williams were all one needed to witness.

Canyon (3-0) nearly lost to Thousand Oaks (0-3) for only the second time on the field in the last 15 meetings between these nonleague rivals. The Cowboys held on to win, 21-14, at Thousand Oaks after Thompson’s four-yard touchdown run with nine seconds left was wiped out by a holding call.

A touchdown and two-point conversion would have given the Lancers a victory and wiped away all the losses--the 12 they suffered on the field and the seven they suffered off it this year when three coaches and four players left Thousand Oaks and joined Canyon.

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But that dream died when Thompson threw an incomplete pass to Greg Aguilar at the goal line as time ran out.

“We had it, we let it get away again,” Thompson said with tears in his eyes and a bitter tone in his cracking voice. “We . . . had them.”

Williams was calm and unemotional.

“I wasn’t impressed with our team’s performance,” said the senior who rushed for 174 yards in 25 carries and scored the Cowboy touchdowns on runs of 11, one and 17 yards. “It shouldn’t have been this close.

“They were a lot more emotional. They came out to beat us. But Coach (Harry Welch) told us it was just another game and not to let the emotion get to us.”

Thompson, who completed 14 of 23 passes for 139 yards, took an offense that stalled in the first half and led it on consecutive drives of 67 and 82 yards to tie the score, 14-14, with 5:52 left.

Thompson capped the first drive with a one-yard sneak and keyed the second with two 10-yard runs and a 21-yard pass. Canyon helped with a roughing-the-passer and two pass-interference penalties.

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Williams opened Canyon’s next drive with runs of 12 and 32 yards, but it died at the Lancer 21 when Sean Connelly’s fourth-down pass to Mike Leary in the end zone was broken up by Josh Pace.

Two plays later, however, Leary grabbed his second interception of the game, putting the Cowboys at the Thousand Oaks 26. On second down, Williams broke loose for the game-winning score on a 17-yard sweep.

The Lancers got the ball back at their 38. After getting sacked on first down, Thompson completed five passes and put his team at the six when he found Pace for a nine-yard gain on a slant pattern.

But that’s where Thousand Oaks’ good fortunes ended.

The Lancers are 2-12-1 against Canyon since 1979. One of those victories came by forfeit.

Thousand Oaks blew a golden opportunity at the outset. Matt Elam took a reverse on the opening kickoff 66 yards to the Canyon 24.

The Lancers ran seven plays but came up empty when Andy Carpiac missed a 22-yard field goal attempt.

Thousand Oaks had only 54 yards in the first half, but its defense was a different story.

Canyon marched from its 20 to the Lancer six before stalling on its opening drive. Williams got the call on fourth and two, but came up a yard short.

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Canyon tried to convert again on fourth and two, this time at the Lancer 35. But Connelly couldn’t hit former Thousand Oaks running back Freddie Polito, who was stopped for no gain on the previous play.

Thousand Oaks’ defense held Canyon four times on fourth down. But failed to stop Williams when it counted.

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