Canyon Hills could have claimed a Central League championship with a win over Kearny on Friday night, capping a remarkable one-year turnaround for a Rattlers program that went 0-10 last season.
The visiting Komets, led by star quarterback Brodie Stump, would have other plans. Stump threw for 400 yards and six touchdowns and visiting Kearny beat Canyon Hills 56-41 on the final Friday of the regular season. The playoffs begin next week.
“This is just another great team win,” coach Jeremy Stump said. “It’s been two really good weeks in a row, and it’s been fun to watch. What’s really exciting about next week is I think the boys are just starting to hit their stride.”
The first half of action, and really all of Friday night’s game, was marked by offensive and special teams dominance.
Neither the Komets nor Rattlers punted in the first half, but each came away with a special teams touchdown. Kearny’s Carlos Enriquez got the offensive fireworks started by returning the game’s opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown.
Lavelle Teague Jr. responded with a 76-yard housecall of his own in the second quarter. He also recorded rushing touchdowns of 23 and six yards.
Brodie Stump stole the show in the first half. He threw for over 200 yards and recorded four touchdowns in the first half, including a 60-yard touchdown to Zaiden Gravely.
The two offenses combined for 62 points in the first 24 minutes of action, and Kearny led 34-28 at the half.
“We’re an Air Raid team, and the mantra we give the guys is all gas, no brakes,” Jeremy Stump said. “We just wanted to get them moving downfield, keep the ball in play, keep the chains moving, and they stayed in that rhythm all night.”
In the third quarter, the Komets’ defense came with perhaps the biggest play of the night. Canyon Hills was facing fourth-and-goal when Kearny got a key tackle-for-loss from Lorenzo Teodoro-Mackey.
The turnover on downs set up a nine-play, 96-yard touchdown drive. Brodie Stump threw a 10-yard touchdown to Mathieu Reeves- Shoaf, giving the Komets a 40-28 lead with a quarter to play.
“What we always tell and preach to our defense is just try to get us two or three stops a game, and let the offense do the rest, and that’s exactly what they did,” Jeremy Stump said. “That was a critical stop. That was huge.”
Kearny 56, Canyon Hills 41
Kearny 12 22 6 16 — 56Canyon Hills 14 14 0 13 — 41
K — C. Enriquez 90 Kick Return (2-pt fail)
C — L. Teague Jr 23 rush ( J. Yankosky kick)
K — J. Hill 56 from B. Stump (2-pt fail)
C — M. Field-Cook 1 rush ( J. Yankosky kick)
K — B. Stump 1 rush (B. Stump rush)
C — L. Teague 76 kick return (J. Yankosky kick)
C — L. Teague Jr. 8 rush (J. Yankosky kick)
K — Z. Gravely 60 from B. Stump (2-pt fail)
K — J. Jackson 30 from B. Stump (Gravely from Stump)
K — M. Reeves Shoaf 10 from B. Stump (2-pt fail)
C — T. Sheriff 70 from L. Teague Jr. (PAT Failed)
K — Z. Gravely 39 from B. Stump (Stump rush)
C — L. Teague Jr. 57 rush (J. Yankosky kick)
K — Z. Gravely 20 from B. Stump (Gravely from Stump)
