Two dominant signal callers in Alexander Lundsberg and Sina Saferzadeh are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Canyon Comanches will be playing at home against the Irvine Vaqueros at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Canyon has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while Irvine will arrive with four straight wins.
Things were looking good for Canyon after they put the first points on the board on Friday, but unfortunately for them things went downhill from there. They took a 27-17 hit to the loss column at the hands of El Toro. The contest marked the Comanches' lowest-scoring game so far this season.
Although Canyon took the loss, they still got scores from Noah McClary and Kellen Rommelfanger.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Irvine). They blew past Santa Ana 43-7 on Friday. Given the Vaqueros' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 254th, while the Saints are ranked 717th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.
Irvine's win came from a few key players Canyon will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Enzo Cahoon, who picked up 91 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Irvine didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Chad Russom, Cole Riedel, and Saferzadeh picked up one apiece.
Irvine's victory bumped their record up to 5-1. As for Canyon, their loss dropped their record down to 2-4.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's matchup: Canyon has been unstoppable in the air this season, having averaged 363.3 passing yards per game. It's a different story for Irvine, though, as they've been averaging only 145.7 passing yards. How will they fare against such a dominant passing game?
Canyon was taken down by Irvine 57-24 in their previous meeting back in October of 2024. Thankfully for the Comanches, Brandon Figueroa (who rushed for 335 yards and four scores while picking up 18.6 yards per carry) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
