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Sports
Oct. 26, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Criner helps Canyon Springs snare Northeast crown

By DAMON SEITERS
REVIEW-JOURNAL


CLASS 4A SCORES
Bishop Gorman 34, Sierra Vista 0

Canyon Springs 48, Las Vegas 43

Centennial 34, Shadow Ridge 18

Chaparral 51, Clark 38

Cheyenne 20, Mojave 14 OT

Coronado 27, Green Valley 14

Del Sol 48, Liberty 12

Desert Pines 42, Valley 14

Durango 36, Bonanza 35

Legacy 32, Arbor View 29

Palo Verde 41, Cimarron 0

Rancho 38, Eldorado 14

Silverado 55, Basic 20

Western 28, Spring Valley 14


Las Vegas defensive back Sam Achempong (25) attempts to tackle Canyon Springs' Juron Criner after a second-quarter reception Thursday night. Criner had seven catches for 175 yards and two touchdowns in the Pioneers' 48-43 victory.
Photo by Craig L. Moran.

With 12 seconds to play, things were looking bad for Canyon Springs on Thursday night. The Pioneers were at the Las Vegas 48-yard line, trailing by a point.

But no football game is ever out of reach if you have Juron Criner.

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    • Criner made two incredible catches in the waning seconds, including a 4-yard touchdown reception from Devonte Christopher as time expired, to give the third-ranked Pioneers a

    48-43 home triumph over the eighth-ranked Wildcats.

    The victory gave Canyon Springs (8-1, 6-0 Northeast) the Northeast Division title.

    With no kicker consistently able to make extra points, the Pioneers were forced to go for a touchdown from the 4-yard line with five seconds to go. Christopher took the shotgun snap and looked like he was going to try to run for the score, but he pulled up and lofted the ball up for Criner in the front corner of the end zone.

    The 6-foot-4-inch Criner jumped over defensive back Sam Achempong, taking the ball away from the defender for the winning score.

    "I thought he was going to run it, but like Coach always tells us, stay available and stay a moving target," Criner said. "And I guess he just spotted me, and you've got to go up and get it."

    Criner had an equally impressive catch to set up the winner. Christopher lofted the ball down the right sideline, and Criner somehow came down with the ball between three defenders.

    "When he made the throw, I didn't see anything else," Criner said. "I didn't see any lights, I didn't see any players, all I saw was the ball floating through the air, and my instincts told me to go get it."

    Criner finished with seven catches for 175 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 23 receiving TDs this season.

    "If he's not the best player in the state of Nevada, I don't know who is," Canyon Springs coach Matt Jenkins said.

    Canyon Springs' lack of a kicking game nearly cost it the victory. The Pioneers scored on a 73-yard pass from Christopher to DeShawn Stewart to make the score 42-36 with 2:16 to play. But Criner was unable to make a circus catch on the 2-point conversion attempt, and the margin remained six points.

    "We don't kick them," Jenkins said of extra points. "We haven't kicked them in a while."

    Las Vegas promptly drove 94 yards on six plays, capped by a 72-yard scoring pass from Marvin Campbell to Zerrick Pryor, who made a spectacular catch over a Pioneers defender at the 40-yard line before scooting into the end zone for the score.

    Trevor Lowe's extra point made it 43-42 with 44 seconds left, and it looked as if the Wildcats (6-4, 4-2) had completed a miracle comeback after trailing 20-0 at halftime.

    "In this offense, we always feel like we can move the ball up and down the field," Jenkins said. "Offensively, we performed when we had to. Defensively, we played one half of football."

    Christopher passed for 401 yards and six touchdowns. Four of those scoring passes went to Stewart, who caught nine passes for 206 yards. Christopher also had a 54-yard touchdown run.

    Robert Hackett (145 yards) and Emery Schexnayder (108 yards) each topped 100 yards on the ground for Las Vegas, which never had lost to Canyon Springs.

    "This win against Vegas is like the best thing ever," Criner said. "We've never beat them, so to beat them is like the best feeling you could ever have."

    Contact Prep Sports Editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or (702) 380-4587.



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    bob saget wrote on November 05, 2007 10:05 PM: ok on the real,i was being immature this forum really exploded! im not a racist or against minorities im a minority and hve minorities (black included" in my family. the fans were cussin out the wildcats when they got on their buses this is where i based the compton thing on. now i kno how don imus felt. i hope u guys beat del sol n vegas beats silverado so we can pick up where that game left off. win or lose,4 words-game of the year


    bob saget wrote on November 05, 2007 07:57 PM: hey dont get mad at the coaches or the wildcats im not a coach i dont even play football but it was pretty bad. i can man up n take back the compton part,we have a minority majority at lvhs too. hopefully the lights stay on this time


    john stamos wrote on November 05, 2007 07:53 PM: come on bob. it was a good game, hopefully theyll play again for regions it is exciting but cs could have been more professional theyre fans were swearing at the vegas players as they were getting on the buses


    super proud CSHS student and ATHLETE wrote on November 03, 2007 04:37 PM: i just want to say that, being a part of the minority at CSHS, it is a HUGE outrage that someone would even think about comparing us to the ghetto. And telling us to go back to Compton?!? what is up with that? i've played with the entire football team before and i would have done the EXACT SAME THING THEY DID!!! I wrestle and am in the minority there. At CSHS we don't look at a person's color, but what they have to offer. If Mr. Saget wants to tell us to go to Compton, maybe he should come to our school, observe us, and see just how "ghetto" we really are. Because we are not now, nor have we ever been, "ghetto". We have THE BEST magnet program,of which I am a senior in. We have a DYNAMITE ATHLETIC PROGRAM. And anyone who wants to tell us to go to Compton is just ignorant of the fact that we are NOT RACISTS ANYMORE!!! I am a proud CSHS student and athlete. I have lettered in all of the sports I have done. I AM PROUD TO BE A PIONEER!!! If anyone wants to say something about that, I dare you to see our school before you say anything. I know you won't, but the glove has been thrown down. Let's see if you are man enough to pick it up Mr. Saget.

    Sincerly,
    JLW
    A PROUD PIONEER


    @nthony wrote on November 02, 2007 11:31 PM: wow compton seriously???? lmao im zoned for vegas and guess wat i went to canyon bc a)its a better school and b)so im not surrounded by ignorant pple like urself bob sagot :)


    KO wrote on November 02, 2007 07:36 PM: I too am a student at Canyon Springs High School and am very proud of my football team. For someone who does even care for football, that night made me pay attention and stand up and scream until my throat was sore. So i won't let someone who made a blatant idiotic statement take away the joy and pride we all felt that night. And to all my students, parents, teachers & staff should do the same.



    Last Thursday was a great night and TONIGHT shall be a repeat.
    GO CANYON!!!!


    KO wrote on November 02, 2007 07:31 PM: I too am a student at Canyon Springs High School and am very proud of my football team. For someone who does even care for football, that night made me pay attention and stand up and scream until my throat was sore. So i won't let someone who made a blantent idoitc statement take away the joy and pride we all felt that night. And to all my students, parents, teachers & staff should do the same.

    Last Thursday was a great night and TONIGHT shall be a repeat.
    GO CANYON!!!!


    Reina- PROUD ASS PIONEER wrote on November 02, 2007 04:23 PM: First off, let me meet this "Bob Saget," I'll show you some "Circus" buddy, cause you ain't seen nothing. I was the circus, and I LIVE the Pioneer Circus!
    I'm in LOVE with my school, and you damned Wildcats deserved what you got! Obviously Coach Saget, if you would have coached better, maybe you would've won, get your friggen helmet and pads on and get out there on the field if you're such a great freakin' player!
    I'm so sick of people baggin on such a great school. You all need to get your ignorant shit out of here. I'm so sick of hearing the bullshit.
    Oh, yeah...Compton, I got family there, and they're all very educated, and not ignorant like Saget, grow up. I would love to come back next year to see Pioneers beat the Wildcats again, and again.
    To all you Wildcats out there, you did a great job on the game, and this doesn't go out to you, all my negativity, great game played, and good luck to you in the future, maybe you'll get a better coach. To all my fellow Pioneers, awesome job, and you all deserved it 100%, I've seen you all work so hard, and we're ready to kill the Gators today!


    Pioneer supporter wrote on November 02, 2007 04:04 PM: I cant believe how ignorant some people are. Its ridiculous..this is 2007 and you want to talk about COMPTON? So are you generalizing that everyone from Compton is ghetto and disrespetful, your hilarious. I know how important this game was, the school had been open for 5 years and never beat Las Vegas, it was very important. They upset the wildcats for the first time and became division champs..you obviously dont know sports and you obviously dont know what your talking about. Get over yourself.


    PROUD CANYON SPRINGS STUDENT! wrote on November 02, 2007 02:17 PM: like Kat Williams said "a haters job is to hate" & thats exactly what they do. Canyon Springs is an excellent school with great students, but we constantly get bashed. Were just gonna keep our head & our spirit up & keep killing the sports competition. See you Basketball season =]


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