Canyon Miscue Paves Way for Loyola Victory

The Canyon High football team got away with it once, but not a second time as Loyola defeated the Cowboys, 28-7, in a nonleague game Saturday night at Glendale High.

Sam Morfin fumbled away a punt at the Canyon 31-yard line late in the first half but Loyola failed to capitalize.

But when Morfin fumbled away a second punt during the third quarter, Loyola scored one play later on an 11-yard run by Mike Vanis for a 14-0 lead.

“That was a big turning point in the game,” Canyon Coach Larry Mohr said of Morfin’s second fumble. “But I feel good about the way we played. Loyola is a good football team and we were playing them with 150-pound linebackers. The kids played hard.”

Vanis rushed for 151 yards in 25 carries and scored three touchdowns for Loyola (2-0).

With a 14-0 lead, the Cubs drove 46 yards in nine plays, capped by Vanis’ two-yard scoring run on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Canyon avoided the shutout on a 57-yard scoring pass play from Rick Thomas to Ahjeron Palmer.

Palmer ran for 139 yards and a touchdown and passed for 54 yards and another score in Canyon’s 30-22 victory against Righetti last week. But he was ineffective against Loyola and was replaced by Thomas in the fourth quarter.

Palmer completed just one of eight passes for one yard and the Cubs held him to eight yards in eight carries.

Thomas completed four of eight for 82 yards.

Monte McKeon gained 35 yards in six carries for Canyon (1-1), but all of those came in the first half.

Loyola, the No. 15th-ranked team in the state by Cal-Hi Sports, held the Cowboys to 130 yards.

The Cubs totaled 337 yards--including 253 rushing--and outgained Canyon, 100 to minus-two, in the third quarter.

“I thought that we played with a lot more aggressiveness and tackled much better than we did against Righetti,” Mohr said. “But we’re not a big team and I think they just kind of wore us down in the second half.”