Peery’s 3 Touchdowns Spur Upset of Alemany
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It was finesse against force, savvy versus strength.
Alemany High attacked Canyon with two quarterbacks, four running backs and eight pass receivers. Canyon answered with a game plan about as complex as a punch in the stomach.
Might made right in the end as Canyon, with a 191-yard rushing attack, outslugged and outlasted Alemany, 23-12, Friday night at Alemany.
“They came at us with everything,” Canyon Coach Harry Welch said. “We came at them with Cowboy football.”
Carrying the Cowboy football 24 times was sophomore tailback Chris Peery. Peery, sinking his 6-1, 200-pound frame into the line, bowled over defenders and teammates as he gained 141 yards and scored three touchdowns.
“He’s no sophomore,” Alemany Coach Enrique Lopez said. “He runs like a senior.”
Peery sealed the win for Canyon (3-2) with 58 seconds to play, bolting 25 yards for a touchdown. Peery ran for a seven-yard score on the first play of the fourth quarter and returned a punt 71 yards for a score in the second quarter.
Peery’s strong performance offset the offensive efforts of Alemany quarterback Joey Rosselli. After replacing starter Roy Talavera in the second quarter, Rosselli put the ball in air 29 times, completing 17 passes to 8 receivers for 1 touchdown. But he was harassed by the Cowboy defense and was able to produce just one touchdown in five fourth-quarter possessions.
“Their left side just kept coming in,” Rosselli said. “Their defense is right up there with Granada Hills.”
Alemany fullback Ray Campuzano, who gained 30 yards on eight carries, ran three yards for a touchdown with three minutes left to play to pull Alemany (3-1-1) to within 16-12.
“We threw everything we had at them,” Lopez said. “They’re a good football team.”
Canyon took a 2-0 lead late in the second quarter when a snap from Alemany center Sal Piscitelli sailed over the head of punter Chris Lobos and out of the end zone for a safety.
One play later, the Cowboys took a 9-0 lead when Peery returned Lobos’ free kick 71 yards up the middle.
Peery, playing in his second game at tailback, rushed for 33 yards on six carries in the first half as Alemany held the Cowboys to minus-4 yards passing. Quarterback Rod Baltau finished with 5 completions in 9 attempts for 25 yards.
Alemany got on the board with 20 seconds left in the half. Rosselli hit Jerry Edemann with an eight-yard strike in the end zone, capping an 11-play, 63-yard drive.
Rosselli, who replaced Talavera at the start of the drive, completed all eight of his passes for 44 yards. The drive was aided by a pass-interference penalty against Canyon linebacker Kevin Doss.
Alemany, which rolled up 266 yards in total offense, was unable to capitalize on several opportunities.
Lobos missed two field goals, one from 36 yards on the Indians’ opening possession, and another from 21 yards in the third quarter.
“We needed those field goals,” Lopez said. “We just couldn’t take advantage of the chances we had. Our kicking game is usually a strength. Tonight it was a weak point.”
Lobos’ second miss, with 5:57 left in the third quarter, followed Alemany’s biggest failure of the game.
With a first-and-goal at the Cowboys’ four-yard-line, Rosselli twice threw incomplete into the end zone, the second time over the head of a wide-open Edemann.
The drive was aided when a Campuzano fumble, which the Cowboys recovered, was disallowed by the officials, who ruled that an inadvertent whistle had blown. The fifth down, however, failed to help the Indians.
“When you stop Alemany inside the 10 on five downs,” Welch said, “that’s doing something.”
Canyon countered with a 14-play, 80-yard drive in which Peery carried the ball nine times, the final carry for a score.
Alemany receiver Mark Scott caught 7 passes for 89 yards. Edemann caught 3 passes for 58 yards and 1 touchdown. Campuzano had four receptions for 19 yards.
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