Savanna Weathers Late Canyon Rally

Savanna came up with a key fourth-down stop to preserve a 35-27 victory over host Canyon in a nonleague football game Saturday night at El Modena High School.

After rallying from a 28-point halftime deficit with three second-half touchdowns, Canyon forced Savanna’s Marcus Jimmersom’s second fumble of the game, which the Comanches recovered at the Savanna 42.

But after Canyon drove 35 yards, the Rebel defense forced an incomplete pass on fourth-and-goal from the seven-yard line to seal the victory.

That overshadowed a standout performance in the second half by Canyon’s Gerald Harvey. After rushing for only 44 yards in the first half, Harvey finished with 182 yards in 26 carries, including touchdown runs of 59 and seven yards.

But he saved his best for late in the game, an 81-yard touchdown on a pass play from Jason Taylor in the fourth quarter. Harvey then ran for a two-point conversion to trim the margin to eight points, but Canyon couldn’t capitalize on its last chance.

The Rebels (2-1) dominated the first half and took a 35-7 lead. Their defense limited the Comanches (0-3) to 103 yards of offense in the half, forcing Canyon to go three-and-out on its first three possessions and then forcing fumbles on its next two.

Jimmersom led Savanna with 140 yards in 31 carries and had touchdown runs of four, 25 and four yards. Quarterback Brad Thompson converted 11 of 17 passes for 126 yards. Frank Buford added 63 yards in six carries, including a 46-yard touchdown run, and teammate Daniel Torres led all receivers with seven catches for 103 yards.

Raul Diaz capped the scoring for Savanna with his two-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter.

Ben Stuelke scored Canyon’s only first-half points on an 18-yard run. Stuelke finished with 24 yards in eight carries.

Canyon’s Taylor threw for 145 yards, completing nine of 22 pass attempts. Darryl Parker caught five of those passes for 46 yards.