Canadian Dismantles Tulia 57-14

By Chris Doelle
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Updated: October 14, 2019

Photos courtesy Alan Hale Photography

Wildcats Win District 3-3ADII Opener

Coming off of a big win against Grapevine Faith and an open week off, (#1 3A DII) Canadian hosted the (#79 3A DII) Tulia Hornets to open the conference season and welcome CHS alumni to a brisk 50* Homecoming celebration. The Homecoming crowd was treated to a BBQ tailgate party and the introduction of former Wildcat players, cheerleaders, and assistant coaches to honor the era of a Panhandle coaching legend, the late Paul Wilson. Wilson is credited with turning the Canadian football program around after he took over as AD/HC in 1985 and establishing a culture which has resulted in four State Championships and numerous Semi-final appearances in the last decade. Wilson coached at Canadian until 1994 and is revered by all of the coaching staffs that have followed him.

After Tulia received the opening kickoff, the first offensive series of the game was halted by the stout Canadian defense in six plays forcing the Hornets to punt. Starting on their own 46 yard line, Canadian called a stretch toss play to RB Hayze Hufstedler that went for a 68 yard TD run as the first play from scrimmage versus Faith Christian two weeks ago. But as Hufstedler crossed the line of scrimmage, Tulia DB Hayden Montgomery stripped the ball then recovered the fumble for the change of possession. Only five plays later, QB Cade Swinburn threw 29 yards to WR Hayden Montgomery, out jumping DB Jack Koetting on the goal line for the TD catch. The PAT kick by Kathan Valenzuela was good.

For Tulia to strike first as quickly as the top ranked Canadian Wildcat offense normally does might have seemed a bit unsettling to the casual observer. Then reality and a fresh set of downs for the Wildcat offense hit the Hornets as expected, ending the first half with a 50-7 Canadian lead. The Hornets struggled against Canadian’s advantageous field position the entire first half. The explosive no huddle NASCAR spread offence Head Coach Chris Koetting has perfected over the last ten years as head coach took advantage of every short field to the goal line that the powerful Wildcat defense gave them. Canadian QB Grant McCook, once again limited to first-half service, dished out 14-for-17 passing resulting in a total of 277 yards with 4 TDs that came in consecutive succession.

McCook first hit Hufstedler for a 36 yard score, then hit WR Bill Koetting twice in a row for 56 and 23 yard scores, then ended the bombing attack with a 41 yard score to WR Gary Anderson. In addition to his passing performance, McCook also had one rushing TD. Wildcat RB Hayze Hufstedler was also held out the second half, but did damage in the first with 59 yards rushing on six carriers and one rushing TD to go with the TD reception from McCook. Kicker Edgar Salazar was also limited to first-half service, went 6-for-7 PAT kicks. Salazar’s only missed PAT in the game was the first miss since week three against Perryton.

In the second half, the Hornets were able to find the end zone one more time as RB Ahmadrian Reed slashed through a couple of Wildcat defenders for a 5 yard TD run. Canadian QB Ethan Jackson ended the game’s scoring with a 7-yard TD run, after showing the Wildcats showed a strong second half running game, also with good yardage from RB Landon Smith.

Canadian will travel to Childress next week to face their district rival Bobcats who have just come off of a big win against Friona. Tulia will be at home to host Dimmitt as District 3-3ADII play will continue.

by Jerry Brunson
@CHSWildcatNews – Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Stats courtesy of Ron Shrader, Canadian ISD

1ST 2ND 3rd 4th Total
CANADIAN 23 27 0 7 - 57
TULIA 7 0 7 0 - 14

T – Hayden Montgomery 29 yd pass from Caden Swinburn, (Kathan Valenzuela kick)
6:51
C – Hayze Hufstedler 14 yd run, (Edgar Salazar kick) 5:24
C – Safety, Rhet Pennington, Israel Guerrero
C – Grant McCook 4 yd run, (Edgar Salazar kick) 2:59
C – Hayze Hufstedler 36 yd pass from McCook, (Edgar Salazar kick) 0:17

C – Bill Koetting 56 yd pass from McCook, (Edgar Salazar kick no good) 9:56
C – Bill Koetting 23 yd pass from McCook, (Edgar Salazar kick) 8:24
C – Gary Anderson 41 yd pass from McCook, (Edgar Salazar kick) 5:11
C – Jake Krehbiel 1 yd run, (Edgar Salazar kick) 1:55

T – Ahmadrian Reed 5 yd run, (Kathan Valenzuela kick) 1:12

C – Ethan Jackson 7 run, (Alan Jara kick) 5:40

FIRST DOWNS: T – 6, C – 18
YDS RUSHING: T –38, C – 140
YDS PASSING: T – 90, C – 277
TOTAL YDS: T – 128, C – 417
COMP-ATT-INT: T – 5-11-1, C – 15-18-0
PUNTS-AVG: T – 6-33, C – 1-40
FUMBLES-LOST: T– 1-0, C – 2-1
PENALTIES: T – 3-15, C- 4-40

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Want to see how the Canadian teams stack up against some of the best all time?

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2015 Canadian - The Wildcats won the Class 2A Division I State Championship with a convincing 41 point win over Gulf Coast power Refugio. This was Canadian's 4th Championship win in 5 Championship games since 2007.

2017 Canadian - The Wildcats extended their winning streak to 16 years. All 16 years they have had 8+ wins. This team made it to the Semifinals with a high scoring offense and great defense.