Harvest Trammell looks for daylight after hauling in a pass against Canyon. Not much went Lehman’s way in a 42-7 loss to the Cougars Friday night. (Photo by Lincoln Ramirez)
By MARK CAUL
The only time the Lehman Lobos came close to Canyon tailback Donavan Wright last Friday night was when the two teams met at midfield for a pre-game prayer.
Wright, a six-foot, 200-pound senior, bolted 71 yards up the middle for a touchdown on the Cougars’ first play from scrimmage and Canyon never looked back in an easy 42-7 romp over Lehman at Shelton Stadium.
“Donavan has been a little banged up so he has played very sparingly in the past few games,” Canyon head coach Matthew Elliott said. “But he showed tonight what he can do when he’s healthy. He does such a good job of running the football and getting himself in position to make big plays.”
Wright finished with 188 yards rushing and scored three touchdowns for Canyon (2-4, 1-1 District 27-4A) despite sitting out much of the second half.
The Cougars scored on their first five possessions and ran at will against the smaller Lobo defense en route to a 35-7 halftime advantage.
“This game was won 10 months ago in the weight room,” Lehman head coach Steve Davis said. “They are a big, hard-nosed football team and we just couldn’t stop them. They beat us physically and mentally – every way you can be beaten.”
Lehman’s only score came on a short 3-yard run by Richard Porche midway through the first quarter to pull the Lobos within 14-7.
But on the ensuing possession, Wright scored his second touchdown of the night on a 59-yard run past a couple of Lehman defenders to put the Cougars back in control.
Canyon backup tailback Geo Williamson finished with 119 yards on 16 carries as the Cougars piled up 412 yards of offense.
“Most teams just have one big back on offense but they had two guys who were big and could run the ball.” Lehman’s Charles Williams said. “We really couldn’t do anything to stop them.”
Junior Matt Riojas was one of the bright spots for the Lobos in the loss.
Riojas finished with 12 solo tackles including a bone-crushing hit that sent Canyon quarterback Cameron Longmire to the sidelines for a couple of series.
“They had a very good running game and the way they kept bringing in new guys every series, it was hard for us to stop them,” Riojas said. “Just tried to do what I could do to help my team win.”
Elliott praised the play of Riojas despite his team’s sizable winning margin.
“That kid was all over the field tonight,” Elliott said. “We did everything we could do to block him but he always seemed to be around the football. He’s a helluva football player.”
Levi Medley led Lehman with 73 yards rushing before exiting early in the second quarter with an injury.
Medley appeared to be hurt after a five-yard carry that put the Lobos in position to score their second touchdown late in the half at the Canyon 22.
But after two straight incomplete passes, Lehman’s Matt Anguiano was brought down for a 12-yard loss on third down by Ronald Harris.
“We have to execute better when we get chances to score against a good team like Canyon because they don’t give you very many opportunities,” Davis said. “That’s been our Achilles heel the past few games.”
Things won’t get any easier for the Lobos as Lehman (3-3, 0-2) travels to Smithson Valley on Friday.
Smithson Valley beat Canyon 35-14 two weeks ago.
“That just shows how tough our district is,” said Davis. “We go from playing a great team like Canyon to having to play one of the best teams in the state in Smithson Valley at their place. It definitely will be a challenge for our kids. We’ll go back to work this week and we’ll see what happens.”
