Cougars ride stout defense to win over Pioneers

Coronado's quick-strike offense erupted for 24 first-half points — 17 in the second quarter — as the Cougars downed host Canyon Springs 30-13 on Friday.

"They are fast and well coached, and we are happy to get out of here with a win," Coronado football coach William Froman said. "Our boys played hard and prepared this week. We got a few little injuries. We are beat up. We are very young in a lot of spots and to come in here and beat an undefeated team, we are pretty happy about that."

And while the Cougars offense played well in the first half, their defense also turned in an impressive effort.

Coronado (2-1) limited the Pioneers' powerful rushing attack to 92 yards on 23 carries. Canyon Springs quarterback Tre'von Dean had most of those with 63 yards on 15 carries.

The Cougars defense harassed Dean all night, sacking him three times and intercepting one of his passes.

Jerrod Blackwell, Canyon Springs' leading rusher, was held to 24 yards on four carries. He came into the game with 221 yards rushing on 33 carries.

Coronado's Corey Leuschner and Justin Balanga each had a sack, while Cayne Sauao-Toa and Noah Seumato combined for a sack. Zacari Holbert intercepted a pass for the Cougars, who also forced two fumbles.

"Our defense did a great job," Froman said. "We schemed them well and took away what they like to do. They wanted to run, but we showed them right away they couldn't do it against us."

After Coronado took the early lead on DaQu'an Davis' 11-yard touchdown run, the Pioneers (2-1) struck for their biggest play of the night when Dean hit Isaiah Johnson on a 56-yard completion down to the Cougars' 3-yard line. Three plays later, Dean connected on a 5-yard scoring strike to Dantae Wilson to tie the score at 7-7.

Dean ended the night completing 7 of 18 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns.

"We bit on a bad move," Froman said. "He hung it up, and there was no way that should have happened. It was the only thing that happened, and we let them have it.

"If they wanted to throw underneath, we said, 'Go ahead, we're going to stay up top.' We didn't think they could sustain a drive, and that is exactly what happened."

While the Cougars shut down Canyon Springs' offense, Coronado erupted for 17 points in the final 7:21 of the second quarter.

After a 34-yard field goal by Gavin Wale pushed Coronado's lead to 10-7, the Pioneers fumbled on their next possession, which led to a 6-yard touchdown run by Sean Stayton that pushed the Cougars' lead to 17-7.

Coronado recovered an onside kick, and three plays later, Davis caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Landen Rowland to push the lead to 24-7 at the half.

Rowland finished the night completing 6 of 18 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions.

"Our O-line is the heart and soul of our offense," Rowland said. "They give it all they got on every single play. They have a lot of heart. That is really our strength."

In the second half, Coronado's offense once again got bogged down with penalties and turnovers that kept the Pioneers hopes alive. Canyon Springs eventually cut Coronado's lead to 24-13 in the third quarter when Dean hit Blackwell on a 17-yard scoring strike.

"We have to go home, watch the film and make our corrections," Rowland said. "We need to keep up the intensity in the second half. We kind of came out flat in the second half."

Coronado's Jordan Patterson, the team's leading rusher, was held out of the second half due to cramps. He finished the night with 68 yards on 10 carries.

Stayton led the Cougars with 95 yards rushing and one touchdown on 16 carries.

The good news for the Cougars is Froman expects Patterson to play next week against Liberty.

"He could have gone in the second half," he said. "I did that on purpose, and I want these kids to know they can win without Patterson."