Hawks Have 10 Gallon Hat Win over Boerne, 41-38
Micah St. John with first Hawk Touchdown on 46 yard run. (photo by mjrphotog.com)
Canyon Lake gets signature win over Boerne on Homecoming night winning, 41-38.
If the Hawks can look to a game that will help define this season then Boerne will be that answer as the Greyhounds had been ranked as high 17th in one poll and now with this Hawk victory, CL holds an inside track for a better than 4th place seed in this district race.
That is important as the first round games for the playoffs will have District 14-4A paired up with District 13-4A schools. Which have had as many as three teams in the top 10 this season.
CL last win over a team with a winning record at the end of the season came in their playoff game with Pleasanton 3 years ago and now the Hawks have won a conquest that they will be able to hang their Hat on.
In fact, this might qualify for a Texas, Ten Gallon Hat, win.
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“I am proud of the kids,” Head Coach Charley Drum stated. “In the past we would have lost games like this…there were peak and valleys but our philosophy was to grind them and our kids came out focused.”
Canyon Lake’s offensive line won this war that was a victory against a bona-fide solid defense that ranks tops in District 14-4A.
“We were wanting to get first downs with 3 and 4 yard runs and just keep going,” Offensive Lineman Joshua Almond said. “This will allow us to go with more motivation and we will definitely be prepared for next week.”
Some more Offensive Line teamwork, “We just kept going and used up the clock and it was the little things,” Center Keith Hutson said. “We knew we would need to step up our game because Boerne is a great team.”
CL started with the ball and on their 5th play, had a passing play, which resulted in a first down but not by the catch but having Boerne committing pass interference and a Hawk first down.
That was significant as those 4 previous running plays had Boerne winning the line of scrimmage with 4 of those runs resulting in 5 total yards and looking much like that Wimberley game started earlier in the year.
Hawk’s Pressure Cooker on Boerne’s QB Klutts (mjrphotog.com)
With the ball on the Greyhounds 46 yard line, a Micah St. John 46 yard run was next on the play list on a carry that had no Boerne player having a clue which Hawk had the ball. St. John would have only been called down if the Officials deemed this game being called like a one-below or flag-football.
The point after kick hit the goal post but Canyon Lake had the lead, 6-0 and ready for an air assault from Boerne next. That miss by Trenton Lorett was his first since the Blanco game a span of 36 touchdowns.
Boerne was as advertised with their offense as the Greyhounds scored on their first drive and enjoyed a lead, 7-6.
That would be the Greyhounds only lead of the game as CL applied pressure from both sides of the ball in this win.
The Hawk’s defense was applying pressure throughout the game on Brooks Klutts the Greyhounds quarterback.
“It was a roller coaster game and we acted the right way and we had one more good play than them,” Hard hitting Linebacker Kenneth Jowers said. “We had to take Boerne out of the District Champion’s picture.”
CL erased Boerne from that portrait by responding with a 5 play drive, when Tanner Faris found smooth sailing down the sideline for a 63 yard touchdown run. Faris would finish the night with 205 yards and become the first Hawk since Zach Henshaw to reach that milestone.
Top 10 Rushing Performances
player year yards game win/loss
Zach Henshaw 2011 300 Fredericksburg win
Zach Henshaw 2011 297 Sealy win
Zach Henshaw 2011 287 Navarro win
Zach Henshaw 2010 266 Somerset loss
Zach Henshaw 2011 252 Austin Travis win
Zach Henshaw 2010 243 Burnet win
Zach Henshaw 2009 209 Gonzales win
Tanner Faris 2016 205 Boerne win
McGuire Johnson 2013 199 Somerset loss
Zach Henshaw 2011 199 Blanco win
That translates into Faris having more rushing yardage than 6 teams on Boerne’s schedule this year as Wimberley was their only opponent to top Faris rushing total.
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“We just need to keep on winning so we can have easier games when playoffs come,” Faris said like he was dancing down the sideline for a score. “Our line was working very hard and so that allowed us to run as hard as we can.”
On how the team will respond to next week’s Fredericksburg game, Faris was short and precise with his answer, “Same mindset.”
Micah St. John hit the century mark with 121 yards and his total was better than 4 schools on the Greyhound’s schedule this season.
“Our mindset was to start strong and finish strong,” St. John said like a Saint. “Our offensive line was blocking and doing their assignments and we just went one play at a time.”
Some more offensive lineman sage thoughts from Brayden Hight, “Basically we are just helping our running backs to get through a hole and that helps them in getting their yards….you know you did your job when you look up and see them (running backs) still running.”
The Hawk defense coaxed a stop and after a Greyhound 40 yard punt, CL was pinned on their 1 inch line needing 99 yards for a touchdown.
CL’s offensive line brought their lunch pails and went to work as the first play had Faris with 8 yards and then a St. John 13 yard play.
Nine plays later, Canyon Lake was enjoying a 2 score lead as Faris would go around the edge for 26 yards and a score, 20-7.
Richard Rosas making presence known in Hawk Win (mjrphotog.com)
After a field goal for Boerne the Hawks would enjoy a 10 point lead and domination with the stats for the first half. The Hawks accumulated 261 yards on the ground in the half which was 6 yards more than Wimberley had for a whole game.
The Hawk offensive line had a stellar performance on this night.
In a game earlier this year when CL dominated the first half against Giddings, you could deduce that everyone in attendance knew this game was not over as the Buffaloes came back to win that game over your hometown boys. Keeping Canyon Lake from the end zone after coming out of their halftime talks.
This 2nd half started having Boerne scoring first on the opening drive and pulling within 3 points of the Hawks, 20-17.
This next Hawk drive would tell if this game would have a different Hawk team coming out for the 2nd half and that indeed happened. Canyon Lake responded with a 60 yard drive and three explosive plays from the ‘pick your poison’ backs for Hawk country.
St. John was first with a carry for 13 yards, then Faris was next on a 19 yard tote with Austin Brennan taking his explosive run for 21 yards and a score, 27-17.
The Hawk defense was front and center on Boerne’s next possession as a 11 yard sack and C. J. Parrish recovery had Canyon Lake with a chance to go up 3 scores.
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Defensive End, Richard Rosas, took up residency in Boerne’s offensive backfield with constant pressure, “Coach Hodges said, ‘When you see them lean then go for a bull rush.’ “
Taking right at 2 minutes off the clock, CL got their score when Faris had a 33 yard run which was the play the Hawks were needing 17 yards for a first to keep the chains moving.
St. John would go in from 10 yards out giving Canyon Lake a 17 point lead with another quarter still yet to play, 34-17.
Canyon Lake’s scores were all long distance as explosive plays are becoming an expected result with just two games left in regulation.
Score 1 Micah St. John 46 yards 6-0 Score 2 Tanner Faris 63 yards 13-7 Score 3 Tanner Faris 26 yards 20-7 Score 4 Austin Brennan 21 yards 27-17 Score 5 Micah St. John 10 yards 34-17 Score 6 Brandon Courtney 29 yards 41-24
That Courtney run was another drive that showed how much this Hawk team is starting to jell as CL scored on a 15 play drive that took 8 minutes off the 4th quarter clock.
“I was just wanting to get a first down,” Courtney said as this carry was on a fourth down try. “I saw Austin (Brennan) hit the corner and I just ran past them….then I thought that this was pretty amazing.”
LB Kenneth Jowers all bout tackles against the Greyhounds (mjrphotog.com)
Brennan would be the unsung hero in the contest as he rushed for 63 yards but his blocking would spring many of the long runs for this victory.
“He (Brennan) does really good on his blocks and that just really opens the field up for us,” Courtney closed while heaping praise on his teammate.
Boerne would make the game interesting with an onside kick recovery after the Greyhounds had a late score but the Hawks still lead, 41-31.
The Greyhounds scored on that possession and now having the Hawks holding on, leading 41-38 and Boerne setting up for another onside kick try.
This time to no avail and the Hawks would take a victory snap and send Boerne home with their first district defeat. Canyon Lake would now be sitting on top of the heap with a 2-0 record.
That record has CL clinching a playoff spot as they will travel to Fredericksburg next week for a chance to clear another hurdle and have a legit chance of finishing first in the district race.
“This was a huge game for us,” Rosas stated. “We have been working since the last game we played and off season and we wanted to raise the bar ever since last year.”
Way to Go Hawks
Now last year will continue against the Billies this year, who had this week off and should be well rested for their next contest.
CL continues to improve on both sides of the ball with some great rushing games and enough defensive stops to pull off having smiles on faces when leaving the gridiron.
“This game meant a lot because we are 2-0 in District and that takes some big weights off of our shoulders,” Hutson said as he thought about the game. “This game was not perfect.”
“We have to improve on what we do well,” St. John said in response for next week’s game. “We will work harder at 110% for every play during the game and practice.”
With a 4 game winning streak, CL’s rushing has really blossomed.
game rushing attempts rushing yards average final score Lampasas 55 361 6.6 42-34 Austin Akins 54 469 8.7 42-20 Austin Eastside 33 461 13.9 63-00 Boerne 54 446 8.3 41-38
Some real impressive numbers as Canyon Lake readies for their next game and look for a nail to hang their 10 Gallon Hat on!!
Hawk’s By the Numbers: 1st Place in District 14-4A Division 1. 4 Game winning streak which is 2 games away from tying the most ever in 2011. 5 Games of reaching 20 or more first downs in a game during 2016 season. 6 Games scoring 40 or more points in a game. 8th Place for Aggregate points in the Boerne game with both teams scoring 79 points. 35 Touchdowns rushing for first place in Hawk history in one season. 38 Is the most points scored by an opponent in a Hawk win. 39 Points per game which is tops for any Hawk team. 42 Point after kicks by Trenton Lorett this season. 126 Points Austin Brennan has scored passing Thorpe for 4th place.
Go Hawks!
1 2 3 4 Final Boerne 7 3 7 21 38 CL Hawks 13 7 14 7 41 Scoring Summary: CL- Micah St. John 46 yard run (kick failed), 9:14, 1st BH- Colton Pool 1 yard run (Wil Herbst), 4:46, 1st CL- Tanner Faris 63 yard run (Trenton Lorett kick), 2:44, 1st CL- Tanner Faris 26 yard run (Trenton Lorett kick), 6:53, 2nd BH- Will Herbst 24 yard field goal, 4:25, 2nd BH- Carter Snelling 21 yard pass from Brooks Klutts (Herbst kick), 3rd CL- Austin Brennan 21 yard run (Trenton Lorett kick), 6:05, 3rd CL- Micah St. John 10 yard run (Trenton Lorett kick), 2:00, 3rd BH- Brooks Klutts 4 yard run (Wil Herbst kick), 11:32, 4th CL- Brandon Courtney 29 yard run (Trenton Lorett kick), 3:36, 4th BH- Will McClure 17 yard pass from Klutts (Herbst kick), 2:01, 4th BH-Brooks Klutts 6 yard run (Herbst kick), 0:41, 4th Team Stats Greyhounds Hawks Total Yards 395 446 First Downs 23 22 Rush/Yards 25/100 54/446 Comp/Att/Int 24/36/0 0/1/0 Passing Yards 295 0 Punts/Average 2/37.5 1/23.0 Fumbles/Lost 2/1 1/0 Penalties-Yards 12-102 7-49 Passing Comp Att Pct Yds Int TD Ben Fulton 0 1 .000 0 0 0 Rushing Att Yds Ave Lg TD Tanner Faris 16 205 12.8 63 2 Micah St. John 17 121 7.1 46 2 Austin Brennan 14 63 4.5 21 1 Brandon Courtney 2 38 19.0 29 1 Ben Fulton 4 15 3.8 7 0 Jacob Ruff 1 4 4.0 4 0
