Canadian Travels to Kansas for Win

By Chris Doelle
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Updated: October 6, 2020

Photos courtesy Alan Hale Photography

Canadian Returns to the Gridiron After 21 Days

Canadian 52, Hugoton 14

The Canadian Wildcats have suffered as much loss to their season’s schedule due to Covid cancellations as perhaps many other teams, but have not experienced any cases within the Wildcat team or staff since early in the season.

Week 4, which would have been Canadian’s scheduled Homecoming was cancelled by the Perryton Rangers due to Covid and the following week was a scheduled open week. When the Spearman Lynx were forced to cancel the Week 6 District 3-3AD2 opener, it wiped out a marquee matchup of two teams both state-ranked in the top ten of the class. Spearman will lose out on a points system due to the forfeit, however, for either team to move forward in the playoffs with an opportunity to play at AT&T Stadium for a championship the possibility of this matchup is still alive.

It appears that the Twitterverse aided in finding a game for both the Hugoton Eagles and the Canadian Wildcats. Whenever someone reply tweets that a high school football team is looking for a game due to cancellation in the current environment, it’s like a catfish on stink bait. The impromptu schedule initially invited Hugoton to visit Canadian, but due to a broke down HHS team bus, the Wildcats hit the road for the 2-hour plus drive to Kansas.

Even though the stadium was void of the award-winning Canadian Wildcat Band, the Hugoton Eagle Band provided at least half of the atmosphere expected at high school football games. Even with the HHS band present, a young lady from Hugoton High belted out an a cappella version of the National Anthem, which assured everyone in attendance they were securely in the heartland. All of the circumstances that led to the unplanned, unscheduled, and unlikely meeting of these two teams were behind them and it was a perfect Southwest Kansas night for football.

Canadian received the opening kickoff to begin their first half offensive onslaught of six possessions that resulted in six scores. The Wildcat’s no-huddle, up-tempo, quick to line’em up and run’em after every official’s ball spot offense (A.K.A. “going NASCAR” by play-by-play radio announcer Russell Gadbois) was a bit much for the Eagles defense.

Canadian started the scorefest with a 4-play, 55 yard drive that ended with a 24 yard TD run by WR Twister Kelton on a reverse play with 11:10 left in the 1st quarter. With starting QB Sawyer Harper out, backup QB for the Eagles, 6-5, 190 lb Gavin Williams took the Hugoton squad down the field from their own 20 yard line on their initial 9-play drive effort against a swarming Canadian defense. But the Wildcats stopped the Eagles on a failed 4th down conversion attempt and took over on their 33 yard line. The Wildcats then commenced a 7-play, 67 yard drive ending with a 36 yard TD pass from QB Josh Culwell to WR Gary Anderson.

Hugoton’s Williams mounted another 9-play drive that stalled out once again pinning Canadian back on their own 15 yard line after the Eagles punt. That gave Culwell & company the opportunity to rack up even more yards on the stat sheets as he engineered a 12-play 85 yard drive that culminated in a 2 yard TD run by RB Hayze Hufstedler with 30 seconds left in the 1st quarter.

The 2nd quarter would almost be a Xerox copy of the 1st as the Wildcat defense halted the next Eagle possession then continued to run’em and gun’em about as fast as the officials could spot the ball after each play was completed. Culwell managed another 6-play, 70 yard drive ending with a 3 yard TD run by RB Jake Krehbiel with 8:37 left in the 1st half.

The Wildcat defense held the Eagles again, then produced a 7-play drive with Culwell tossing a TD to WR Angel Garcia with 5:31 left in the 2 nd quarter. After the tenacious Canadian defense forced a 3-and-out on the Eagles, it took only 3-plays to score again with the help of speedster Hayze Hufstedler turning on the jets for a 59 yard TD run with 3:05 left in Q2. Yet another 3-and-out by Hugoton gave the ball to Canadian in the final minutes. Starting at their own 33 yard line, the Wildcats got a pass interference call and with the clock winding down, kicker Edgar Salazar was called on to try a 38 yard FG. His kick was good, putting Canadian up 45-0 going in at the break. The FG by Salazar was added to the six straight PATs he made in the first half. Salazar, a junior, could possibly end the season with the best kicking statistics in the State in Class 3A if he remains consistent and the offense continues to present those opportunities for Salazar, his holder, Twister Kelton and long-snapper Dylan Leach.

The Wildcat defense took up where they left off beginning the 2 nd half with Hayze Hufstedler gathering up a fumble from his linebacker position from Hugoton’s RB Riggs Martin after making contact with LB Ethan Jackson, DE Everett Hadaway and NG Javier Cardenas. The Eagles needed a better start than to give Canadian a short field after just one offense snap, but the Wildcats were diligent to take advantage of every opportunity after being penned up since September 11th . Three plays later RB Landon Smith followed the pushing Wildcat linemen for the 1 yard TD. The PAT was good.

The Eagles weren’t about to throw in the towel. On the second play from scrimmage on the next possession, RB Riggs Martin seemed to be caught for a loss on an off-tackle run when he miraculously slipped through and found himself beyond Canadian’s linebacking corps and defensive backs. The footrace Martin offered to the endzone had no serious challengers and the 80 yard TD was on the board and in the books.

The Wildcat coaches called up Freshman JV QB Cameron Cavalier for this game which gave him valuable varsity playing experience. Although Cavalier and others off the Wildcat bench made a good showing in the second half, they were held out of the end zone as they played on with a mercy rule running clock.

And as the clock was running out, QB Gavin Williams drove the Eagles to the Wildcat 1 yard line and tossed a TD pass to Martin with a falling out-of-bounds catch at the front pylon on the Eagles sideline. Martin ran in the 2-point conversion as the game ended, settling the score at 52-14 Canadian.

The Wildcats will continue District 3-3AD2 play next week on the road to Amarillo Highland Park barring a Covid cancellation.

by Jerry Brunson
@CHSWildcatNews – Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

SCORING

CAN – Twister Kelton 24 yd run (Salazar kick good) 11:10
CAN – Gary Anderson 36 yd TD pass from Josh Culwell (Salazar kick good)
CAN – Jake Krehbiel 2 yd run (Salazar kick good) 0:30

CAN – Jake Krehbiel 2 yd run (Salazar kick good) 8:37
CAN – Angel Garcia 19 yd pass from Culwell (Salazar kick good) 5:31
CAN – Hayze Hufstedler 59 yd run (Salazar kick good) 3:05
CAN – Edgar Salazar 38 yd FG – 0:00

CAN – Landon Smith 1 yd run (Salazar kick good) 9:26
HUG – Riggs Martin 80 yd run (PAT 2-pt conv failed)

HUG – Riggs Martin 1 yd pass from Gavin Williams (Martin 2-pt conv run)

see slideshow)
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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.