Keep 'em guessing

It's easy to find big offensive numbers among the area's Class 4A offenses headed into this weekend's bidistrict football playoffs, but no unit in 4A has been soaring higher than the Canyon Eagles.

In a District 3-4A that was dominated by prolific offenses, Canyon has stood out, averaging 451.5 yards a game, and the 8-2 Eagles will put those numbers up against a powerful Big Spring offense at 7:30 tonight in a 4A Division II bidistrict game at Lubbock's Lowery Field.

Canyon won 3-4A with a 5-0 record as the Eagles were next to unstoppable offensively. Opponents couldn't figure out whether to focus on quarterback Conner Moore and a strong group of receivers or stick eight men in the box to stop 1,000-yard rusher Blake Boyer.

Either way, the Eagles were tough to contain.

"Canyon's been known in the past as a passing team, but this year, it's been more of a balanced attack," said senior receiver Braden Kimsey, who with 43 catches for 574 yards is among three Canyon receivers with more than 500 yards this season.

In some ways, this has been a fairly typical Canyon offense. In his first year as quarterback, Moore has flourished; his 2,735 yards passing ranks second among all area quarterbacks.

But there's also been enough room in the playbook to accommodate Boyer, who's run for 1,159 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. That number has surprised even Boyer.

"There's a lot more opportunities," Boyer said. "I was hoping for 1,000, but I didn't think I'd get it by the time the regular season was over."

But that kind of number from one running back is what Canyon coach Blake Bryant wants to see. The Eagles actually threw for a few more yards last season than this year but didn't have the kind of balance Bryant was looking for.

"One of the big focal points we had coming into this year was reestablishing our running game," Bryant said. "We were used to being at 1,600, 1,800 yards a season."

Led by Boyer, the Eagles reached 1,780 yards rushing during the regular season. That has only made Canyon's prolific passing game that much more effective.

With Kimsey, senior Chris Rhoten (46 receptions, 785 yards, 9 touchdowns) and junior Derek Odell (48, 862, 9 TD), Moore has plenty of options to spread the ball to.

"Just knowing you have so many weapons to throw to makes it pretty easy," said Moore, who threw only one varsity pass last season but has a 21-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio this year. "You know whoever you throw to is going to be a good option."

Moore doesn't feel the need to play favorites in the passing game, which gave the receiving corps a good reason to welcome him with open arms to the starting position.

"Playing with Conner in year's past, we know he spreads the ball around really well," Rhoten said. "Last year, there was more responsibility on some key players. Everyone now seems capable of having a big game. It's nice that it can be spread around."

When the Eagles meet Big Spring (8-2), they might feel it's a bit like looking into a mirror. The Steers are as balanced as Canyon offensively as they're led by running back Monte Anderson, a three-year starter who's run for 1,809 yards and 17 touchdowns this season. But the Steers can also throw the ball well, as senior quarterback Tyler Tannehill threw for 2,282 yards and 29 touchdowns. Matt Ritchey and Thaddeus Straughter each have more than 600 receiving yards.

Canyon and Big Spring met last year in the bidistrict round, and Big Spring rolled to a 49-14 victory as Anderson ran for 167 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, so Bryant isn't surprised to see the Steers again.

"(The Steers) have seven or eight offensive starters back, so obviously they're talented," Bryant said. "We need to have two or three key stops, then score after those stops."

The Canyon seniors say they still have a bad taste in their mouths about how last season ended.

"I think we're a completely different team from last year," Moore said. "We have more team chemistry."