Moore of the same?

One of the most difficult things to do is succeed a fan favorite.

That's the task ahead for Canyon senior quarterback Conner Moore, who is following one of the area's most prodigious passers during the past few years.

"Sitting behind Spencer Church has been a little difficult since he was such a good quarterback, but it's been nice heading into this year knowing I have my chance," Moore said. "Spencer was a great guy, and he taught me a lot of things like how to handle pressure or looking off defenses - things that you need to have experienced on the field in order to really know how to deal with them."

While Church may have cast a large shadow, Canyon coach Blake Bryant and the rest of the Eagles are confident Moore will be able to step in. After all, in Moore's previous three seasons (freshmen and junior varsity), the 6-foot, 185-pounder has lost just one game.

"This kid knows how to win, and when you see him taking snaps and performing on the field, you know he has the tools to be something special," Bryant said. "He has the arm and he has great mobility, but you can't put a price tag on the things he does for the team off the field as a leader."

The trust he has in his teammates and the confidence they have in him allows Moore to simply focus on the task.

"I don't really think about it. I just focus on the team and the things we will need to do to get better and win that week," Moore said. "Our senior class has always had good chemistry. Ever since seventh grade, we've had a lot of confidence in each other and know that we can do whatever we need to win. We trust each other to get our jobs done and know we'll come out on top."

Moore possesses more mobility than Church, and the Eagles plan to capitalize on that.

"We've been putting together a bunch of option packages, and I've been working a lot this summer on speed training, and I think that will be a bigger part of our offense," Moore said. "Using that scrambling ability will give me more time and give our guys a better chance to get open.

''It doesn't matter too much to me if I'm throwing in the pocket or throwing on the run, but sometimes I feel like I have more time to throw and make my reads when I'm moving outside the pocket."

The Eagles barely snuck into the playoffs last season in their return to District 3-4A after moving up from 3A. The Eagles denied Caprock a two-point conversion at the end of the regular-season finale and won, 35-34, to advance.

Canyon has 41 lettermen returning and six offensive starters, but the new face taking the snaps for the Eagles could likely make the biggest difference.