Cypress Tries to Make Best of No-Win Situation

Edison quarterbacks Richard Schwartz and A.J. Korn completed 10 of 18 passes against Cypress, each to a different receiver.

Cypress Coach Kerry Crabb said before his team’s game against Edison, “This could get out of hand in a hurry.” Cypress trailed 19-0 less than 5 1/2 minutes into the game and was behind at halftime, 62-0. The final score was 62-14.

So why play Edison?

“It started out as a one-year contract,” said Crabb, who is in his third season. “We were going to try to play out of state, but it didn’t work out, and there was no team we could lock up that we’d feel better about than Edison.

“A game like this can be a tempo-setter. There are still things to be gained even if we lose. That’s important.”

What was gained? Crabb hoped the Centurions, a favorite to win the Empire League, won’t continue the complacency they’ve shown the last 1 1/2 weeks. Also, Darren Shorter showed flashes of being a good running back, with gains of 10 and 32 yards against Edison’s first-string defense.

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Canyon Coach Matt McCain, 27, began his head coaching career Friday at Valencia High against El Dorado. And there were plenty of butterflies.

“I didn’t sleep too well last night,” said the former Fullerton College and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo player. “Hopefully, we’ll keep it simple, be patient, and compete.”

Complicating matters was the fact that Canyon went into the game without one of its best offensive linemen, Ryan Welch, who was sidelined with a knee injury, and a defensive line starter, Matt Lewis.

El Dorado won, 27-12.

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University Coach Mark Cunningham said he felt uneasy about the Trojans’ opener Thursday against a team the caliber of Irvine.

“I think we’re going to have a good football team this year,” he said. “But this game is not going to make our season.”

Of course, he had no idea his team would be within 11 yards of taking a fourth-quarter lead over the Vaqueros.

Despite the 17-7 loss, he had reason to be upbeat: “We did some things that are very correctable.”

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Injuries have been extremely unkind to Century League teams this season. Four league teams have already lost key players.

* El Modena’s Jordan Czaykowski, a first-team all-league linebacker last season, suffered a severely sprained ankle two weeks ago. El Modena Coach Jason Hitchens doesn’t expect Czaykowski to return until league play begins.

“It didn’t even happen in full contact,” Hitchens said. “He just stepped on someone else’s foot.”

* Santa Ana Valley’s Eliu Fatu, also a first-team all-league linebacker, aggravated a minor ankle injury in a 25-21 victory over Rancho Alamitos and did not play in the second half. He is questionable for Friday’s game at Fullerton.

* Canyon’s Ryan Welch, a 6-foot-4, 285-pound offensive tackle, may be sidelined with a knee injury until league play begins and one of Villa Park’s top defensive players, second-team all-league lineman Anthony Bologna, injured his knee on the opening kickoff of Villa Park’s 20-15 loss to Valencia and did not return.

Century League teams went 1-5 last week.

Notes

Rudy Acosta gave Loara a big lift in special teams with 160 yards on five kickoff returns--including an 85-yard touchdown--and 50 yards on two punt returns. . . . Ocean View’s Deshai Houston may have had 376 yards passing and six touchdowns in a little more than three quarters against Twentynine Palms, but he also was sacked seven times for 48 yards.

Staff writer Michael Itagaki contributed to this story.