Valencia Turns to Defense After Bauer Sidelined

Chris Hightower returned an interception for a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter and Valencia High held on for a 21-13 victory over Canyon to secure second place in the Foothill League on Thursday night at Canyon.

Hightower’s 27-yard return gave the Vikings (8-2, 4-1 in league play) a 21-0 lead, but the offense didn’t score after quarterback Kyle Bauer left the game after sustaining a possible broken finger on his left (non-throwing) hand late in the third quarter.

Bauer completed seven of 17 passes for 181 yards and two second-quarter touchdowns.

Canyon (4-6, 1-4), which out-gained Valencia 259 yards to 206, scored two touchdowns in the final 4:48, but was unsuccessful on the ensuing on-side kick attempts.

Mark Barr and Ricky Galvan each scored on four-yard runs for the Cowboys, the latter with 23 seconds to play. Galvan finished with 106 yards in six carries, 80 coming on his final three rushes.

Bauer connected with Marc Stockland on an 86-yard scoring pass play down the sideline early in the second quarter. With 12 seconds left in the half, Bauer hit Will Broadous over the middle on a 22-yard scoring play. Broadous broke a tackle inside the 10.