Members of the Canyon Springs High football team pose for a photo at the Las Vegas Sun’s high school football media day Tuesday July 31, 2018 at the Red Rock Resort and Casino. They include, from left, Keyvon Lakes, Jayvion Pugh, Torian Hammond, Aijalon Davis, Anasan Fields and Donovan Wolfe.
Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018 | 10:51 p.m.
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It’s time to start calling Canyon Springs’ reign atop the Northeast division what it is — a dynasty.
The Pioneers, despite few picking them to do so this season, won a third straight Northeast title with a 24-16 victory at Legacy Friday night.
“It’s special and I told the kids I was so proud of them,” Canyon Springs coach Gus McNair said. “They’re relishing the moment, and we feel like we earned it regardless of how the season played out or what happened with other teams.”
They certainly earned it with a gutsy performance against the Longhorns, who forced them to dig out of bad situations all night. Legacy stuffed Canyon Springs on its first drive and proceeded to score to go up 8-0.
The Pioneers didn’t panic, as sophomore running back Martin Blake scored on a screen pass from senior quarterback Xavier DeLong. Then, senior kicker Alonso Casillas added a field goal to give Canyon Springs a halftime lead.
In the second half, Canyon Springs tightened its grip on Legacy with a long touchdown run from senior running back Jayvion Pugh and a score on a DeLong quarterback sneak.
But then the offense sputtered, and Legacy cut the deficit to a touchdown with a chance to tie the game at the end of regulation. The Longhorns were at the Pioneers’ 3-yard line with seconds remaining, but couldn’t complete a pass into the end zone as time expired.
Canyon Springs celebrated, but not for too long. It’s already shifted its focus to a home playoff game against Palo Verde next Friday.
“We’ve got to take care of business because they’re a really well-coached, tough team,” McNair said.
Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
