PREP EXTRA / SATURDAY FOOTBALL PULLOUT : Canyon Has Last-Minute Magic Again

ORANGE — For the second week in a row, Canyon pulled off a victory on its last offensive play of the game.

In Friday night’s Century League opener, the Comanches beat Santa Ana Valley, 21-17, when Adam Hoover scored on a three-yard run with 11 seconds remaining.

Quarterback Hoover guided Canyon on a 51-yard drive in the final minute of play, matching the heroics of Clay Kilbarger, whose 46-yard field goal as time ran out beat Corona, 6-3, last week.

“It was my call,” Hoover said of the game-winning play. “We had run the quarterback sneak before and I knew the linemen could get the job done.”

The situation looked dismal for Canyon when the Falcons blocked Kilbarger’s 16-yard field goal attempt with 3:00 remaining, but the Comanches defense stopped the Falcons on their next possession and got the ball back for a final drive.

Hoover finished the game completing 18 of 26 passes for 232 yards. The county’s leading receiver, Greg Jacobs, caught ten passes for a game-high 118 yards for Canyon (5-1, 1-0). Jacobs also had an interception late in the fourth quarter.

Dwayne Cherrington, who rushed for 107 yards in 25 carries, scored on the Falcons’ opening drive with a nine-yard run.

The outcome may have been different for the Falcons (2-4, 0-1), but a clipping penalty negated a 44-yard interception return for a touchdown by Kyle Marks in the second quarter.