Canyon Is Still Good as Golden

It has been six years since Canyon High, the one-time bully of the Golden League, was moved to the Foothill League.

But just for old time’s sake, the Cowboys are taking another victory tour through their former league.

They beat Golden League favorite Palmdale, 24-18, Thursday night in a nonleague game at Canyon.

The Cowboys beat Highland, another Golden League favorite, on opening night.

“We’re not such a bad football team, are we?” Canyon Coach Larry Mohr asked.

Against Palmdale (3-2), ranked sixth in the region by The Times, the Cowboys (3-2) were very good.

Canyon, which yielded 372 rushing yards in last week’s 21-13 loss to Arroyo Grande, allowed Palmdale only 184 yards and limited Jason Anderson to 14 yards in 13 carries.

Linebacker David Johnson, who missed much of last week’s game with a concussion, returned to the Cowboy lineup and was a force.

Canyon’s Matt Gregory gained 93 yards in 23 carries, and fullback Drew Welch scored twice on three-yard runs.

Luke Petticord completed four of 11 passes for 94 yards and added a two-yard touchdown run that gave the Cowboys a 24-10 lead with 2:55 seconds left.

The Falcons answered with Shaun Perez’s eight-yard touchdown run and Billy Niemeyer’s two-point conversion run with 1:19 remaining.

Canyon’s Daryl Perry recovered an onside kick and the Cowboys ran out the clock.

Perez had 47 yards in nine carries, including a three-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Palmdale’s Grant Livermont completed 13 of 30 passes for 141 yards.

Canyon defeated Palmdale 15 consecutive times from 1977 through 1991 before leaving the league. They renewed the rivalry last season, when Palmdale broke the streak with a 40-12 victory.

Welch’s first touchdown gave Canyon a 7-0 lead in the second quarter.

Palmdale pulled to within 7-3 at halftime on a 23-yard field goal by Anthony Valentino.