ORANGE – Canyon quarterback Kayden Phillps had minus-2 yards rushing in the first half.
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His second carry in the second half was a 19-yard gain. Then came a 6-yard gain and a few plays later he had a gain of 28 yards.
When the game ended Phillips had rushed for 151 yards and scored all three Canyon touchdowns in the Cobras’ 20-10 win over St. Margaret’s in a Kappa League opener Thursday at El Modena High.
Canyon is 5-1 overall. St. Margaret’s is 4-2.
Sacks in high school football are recorded in the rushing category, and Phillips was caught behind the line of scrimmage a few times in the first half. He threw only five passes in the second half while running with the ball 14 times in that second half.
“Our coaches told us just to do what we’re good at,” said Phillips, who was at Servite last season. “And I kept getting the ball.”
Phillips scored on a 6-yard run in the second quarter and scored on runs of 13 yards in the third quarter and 25 yards in the fourth quarter. He also completed 11 of 18 passes for 139 yards.
Canyon first-year coach Vinnie Lopez had dual-threat quarterbacks like Darius Cowens and Ben Jefferson when he was the head coach at Pacifica.
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“And here, it’s Kayden,” Lopez said. “When the game’s on the line Kayden wants the ball. And if he’s doing this kind of stuff, why not?”
Canyon also had a couple of big defensive plays.
With Canyon ahead, 13-10, and St. Margaret’s driving, Canyon’s Skee Hitchens recovered a Tartans fumble in the end zone for a touchback. Hitchens also had an interception with 1:51 left in the game. Bo Booher made an interception in the second quarter that led to the Cobras’ first touchdown.
St. Margaret’s took a 3-0 lead on Gareth Thomas’ 34-yard field goal in the first quarter. Phillips’ 6-yard touchdown run followed the Booher interception. The kick for the extra point was no good, leaving Canyon with a 6-3 lead, which would be the halftime score.
Tartans receiver Jack Kleinhanzl made a great catch in the end zone, pulling the ball in between two defenders, for a 30-yard touchdown pass from Kai Letcher to put St. Margaret’s on top, 10-6 in the third quarter. Phillips scored on his 13-yard run to give the lead back to Canyon, 13-10, early in the fourth quarter and added his 25-yard scoring run with 2:16 left in the game.
St. Margaret’s plays at home against Portola in another Kappa League game on Oct. 9. Canyon plays a Kappa League game next Thursday against Fullerton at Fullerton High.
Canyon was penalized 14 times for 135 yards.
“The penalties were a crusher,” Lopez said. “We’ll have to clean that up before we play Fullerton.”
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